A Carcanet Poet Abroad: The Next Chapter

Continued from the blog post dated 20th March; Jenny Lewis' diaries of Morocco

20 March 2015 Discussion: ‘Poetry as a Revolutionary Act’

                               Safi Interdisciplinary Institute

Faculty of Interdisciplinary Studies Safi

With Karl Schembri, Abdeddine Hamrouch, Mohamed Zahiri, Saida Takki, Munir al-Baskiri and Abdeldine Hamroush.

Most of this session was in Arabic and I managed to make notes on a small part of its wide-ranging content with the help of a young journalist who sat next to me. The first speaker, Abdeddine Hamrouch, spoke about three aspects of revolutionary poetry – revolution, nationalism and community.

Poets gathering to read Atlantic Hall 20 March 2015

In the Algerian revolution, poems were not written by Algerians but by others from Syria and Iraq (for example, Al Bayati.) Revolutionary poets such as Nilar Karani, Modafar Nawab, Lorca and Neruda wrote against imperialism and colonialism and their ideas were rooted in Marxism.

More recently, Moderation Theory has been developed as a way of combating oppression without resorting to radical measures. This is reflected in modern resistance poetry which talks about loss, suffering and exile in ways in which have become part of the discourse.

The use of symbolism and myth is an important element of moderate resistance poetry which uses such signifiers to avoid direct confrontation with oppressive regimes.

Carl Schembri Saida Taqi Mohamed Zahiri Slima Emrz and Abdeddine Hamroush

The second speaker, Slima Emrz (dressed in traditional southern Moroccan robes) discussed Hassanism, the old, loyal relationship with the King of Morocco of Berber communities in the south of the country, near the desert. Here there is a continuing tradition of resistance poetry against the French and they condemned Charlie Hebdo for its irreverence. In Hassanism, revolution is not about communism and imperialism but about preserving the identity, customs and language of the community.

The third speaker, critic Saida Taqi, from the University of Hassan II in Casablanca, asserted that poems of revolution are not dependent on weapons but on (figurative) language. Poems change history and our view of the world. She cited the internationally renowned poet Adonis who is against revolutionary poems, preferring to believe that focusing on the artistic aspects of poetry can educate people away from cultures of propaganda and hatred and serve the nation better than other forms of resistance. 

Emerging poet!

Back to hotel for lunch and some free time before going to the Atlantic Hall for a second set of readings in the evening. I read some of my English translations of Adnan’s poems with him. Here are four of his epigrammatic ‘short poems’ –

Short Poems by Adnan al-Sayegh, translated  by Jenny Lewis and Alaa Juma.

1. The Sea 

The sea came when I was out

It left me its address

in the blue of your eyes.

2. Short Poets

Short poets

often put high heels

on their poems

3. Painter

Before he’d finished

painting the cage

the bird had escaped

from the picture

4. Revolution

All these revolutions

of the sea

and no-one has arrested it!

Flying the flag for Carcanet - reading on 21 March

Sightseeing at the castle

Adnan al-Sayegh, Slima Emrz and Jenny Lewis

Poets at the castle, 21 March

Poets Bjorn Ursi, Adnan al-Sayegh and Roger West

Sunday 22 March 2015: the long drive to Guelmim, a town near the desert.

We went in a minibus from Safi to Guelmim in the south near the desert – 700 kilometers away. When we arrived at the hotel at 10.30pm after a 10 hour drive our progress to dinner took almost as long again as everywhere we go, Moroccans want to come and shake Adnan’s hand and get a picture taken with him. In Safi, people drove from a long way off to come and hear him read. Poetry is far more deeply embedded in Arabic life than it is in Western culture. Most people can recite passages from the great Arab tradition such as the pre-Islamic poets Imru al Quais, Antarah ibn Shaddad and later writers such as Badr Shakir al-Sayyab, Mahmoud Darwish and Adonis. I’m told that people recite the work of these great writers in their kitchens while preparing food or at gatherings.

Monday 23 March 2015: ‘Poetry and Dissent: round table discussion at the Regional Commission of Human Rights, Guelmim.

Now staying at Hotel Hamza which is spacious and comfortable. This morning we went to the Regional Commission for Human Rights in Guelmim for a discussion on ‘Poetry and Dissent’.

I was pleased to see that there was an almost equal amount of women as men at this meeting as this hasn’t always been the case.

It’s hard to follow these discussions which cover a huge range of disciplines, time spans and philosophical, theoretical and geopolitical thinking. My strategy has been to follow as best I can with the help of an interpreter (who whispers in my ear!) then request translations of what seem to be the most important talks afterwards. I’m also compiling a list of books, lecture series and other relevant material to access when I’m back in Oxford.

Some of the key points from the morning_

• Poetry gives us new ways of seeing so can affect change

• Poetry is not against religion but against oppression

• The poet takes the lead in building a different future

• The importance of collaboration between poets from different countries and traditions

• ‘Without freedom there is nothing’ (Yannis Ritzos)

A woman from the Hassanist tradition from southern Morocco read some poems and I could hear the strict tetramic metre and rhyme. It’s forbidden for a woman to write about a man (love poetry) and so any writing of this sort is published anonymously.

I kept my contribution short, saying that I was honoured to be taking part in the festival and feel it is important to take the new ideas I am being exposed to back to Oxford where they will be able to inform my teaching.

I also spoke about the importance of hearing women’s voices at all levels of the debate and that my own poetry speaks about (and for) women and children in war who often have no voice. If we create empathy through poetry we may be able to develop a discourse that can affect change.

Monday 23 March 2015: Poetry Reading at Hamza Hotel.

A reading by the sixteen poets left from the original 22, followed by a presentation to the poets. I read ‘Now as Then’ and ‘Epilogue’ from Taking Mesopotamia and ‘Passage to Exile’ in English for Adnan.

People comment on how well our work and voices go together. We have been working and reading together for three years now and have refined our ‘act’. We both get spontaneous applause in our readings. Arab audiences will clap half way through a poem or at any point if they particularly like what is being said, or the expression of it. They will also ‘ooh’ and ‘aah’ in appreciation and discuss, briefly, with the person next to them how moving, funny or apt the poet is. It’s a very different experience from reading to an English audience.

The Hassanist woman from the morning’s meeting read her poems again and I just took a couple of lines from the traditional poem she read this morning to give you a flavour of it –

‘How can I forget him when his home is in my eyes…?’

‘My heart is patient, waiting for happiness…’

Tomorrow Marrakech and more to come…

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