Monday, November 27, 2023

Ghaza - Poetry to Overcome a Nightmare


I recently found fresh poetry about Ghaza written in French. Palestinian poetry seems to have a long tradition in France, beginning with Mahmoud Darwish, the famous Palestinian writer and who had been translated and published in France and Germany. The recent outbreak of hostilities in the frame of a long-standing conflict between the State of Israel and Hamas, the dominant party in Ghaza, has given new impetus to the writing of poems related to Ghaza. Now, a weekend session dedicated to the poetry of Ghaza, has been embedded in this year's Week of the Arabic Language in Paris. Organised by the Arabic speaking community of Paris and IMA (*) as its cultural center, this event is the annual reminder of an outstanding semitic language serving, both, religious and worldly purposes. => (*) IMA = Institut du Monde Arabe



Aussi, l’ennemi la hait-il,
tant et tant d’elle il a peur
qu’il ira bien jusqu’au meurtre,
jusqu’au crime par noyades
sous la mer, et sous les sables
et dans les baquets de sang !
As well, the enemy hates her,
so much as he is afraid of her,
willing to go so far as to murder,
to the crime of drowning her
in the sea, and under the sands
and in tubs of blood !

Mahmoud Darwish - Le Silence de Ghaza - The Silence of Ghaza
In his famous poem, Darwish speaks of the Palestinian resistance
in Ghaza during the first years of the occupation (i.e. 1967-1974).
Here is my English version of some text lines. - Wolfgang Wiesner




Les Samedis de la Poésie - Décembre 16, 2023, à L'Institut du Monde Arabe, Paris.


No comments: