For readers interested in new religious movements, whether pasta, prego or in da futura, it should be noted that the FSM Pastafarian Movement now has a chapter in Iraq. So, while the DOD could find no evidence of a link between Saddam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, it can now be stated al dente that the spaghetti has indeed hit the fan, regardless of the Surge.
Luke R. E. Publican
The Iraqi Poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab
[Note: This is the 17th in a series of translations of selected letters of the noted Iraqi poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab. For more information on the poet, click here.]
Letter #17
Basra…..(1)
My Brother Jabra (Ibrahim Jabra),
Only yesterday I received your letter dated, 4/ 29/1963. I was overjoyed especially because your news has been disrupted for a while now. In a letter to me from Taoufik Sayigh, he inquires about the reason for your absence from him and from “Hiwar.†I hope you will write to him.
I continue to improve, but at the same slow pace. I am still waiting for my improvement to reach a certain stage so I can come to Baghdad and remain for a week or two.
Bahij ‘Uthman has not yet sent me my personal copies of “ al-Ma’bid al-Ghariq†and “Manzil al-Aqnan.†Perhaps they will arrive soon, and then I will send you your two copies.
Enclosed with this letter, you will find two new poems which I hope will earn your approval. I am ready to translate any article you send. Continue reading The Letters of Badr Shakir al-Sayyab: #17
The Iraqi Poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab
[Note: This is the 16th in a series of translations of selected letters of the noted Iraqi poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab. For more information on the poet, click here.]
Letter #16
al-Ma’qil 3/ 29/1962
My Dear Brother Mr. Jabra (Ibrahim Jabra),
Is it possible for any Iraqi to visit the beautiful Baghdad and to intentionally leave it? I will certainly try to arrange for “many visits†there in the summer beginning in June, God willing. However, this letter is devoted to business, to the story of Oxford that is long overdue, and not for chatting. The important thing is that I have a lot of new poetry that I will recite to you when we meet.
The following are my responses to the questions of Professor Hurani. I write it in Arabic so you may translate it according to how you see fit. You have the absolute right in responding as you wish:
1- Yes. I wish to study at any university other than Oxford, on the condition that I obtain an acceptance through the mediation of professor Hurani.
2- I was supposed to begin last academic year, but I postponed it until next year (next October), and I believe that it is difficult to postpone it a second time.
3- I prefer to write a thesis in the field of Arabic Studies or in Comparative Literature between Arabic and English Literature. Continue reading The Letters of Badr Shakir al-Sayyab: #16
Belt made of lapis lazuli, gold and carnelian worn by Queen Pu-abi, who was buried in the Royal Tombs of Ur.
The frenzy caused by New York Fashion Week and red-carpet style at the Oscars may give the impression that contemporary society is particularly clothes-obsessed, but the research of Aubrey Baadsgaard, an anthropology doctoral student at Penn, shows that the concept of fashion is as old as human history itself. Baadsgaard is writing her dissertation on how clothing and ornamentation both reflected and helped construct gender and gender roles in ancient Mesopotamia during the Early Dynastic Period (circa 2900 – 2100 B.C.), considered to be one of the ‘cradles of civilization.’
For the rest of this article, with pictures, click here.
America must be victorious, but victory is out of the question. This is the election-year paradox facing voters. Assuming Obama’s delegate count surge continues through Texas and Ohio, the national campaign will bring the surge issue front and center in the race to replace Mr. Bush, the president who started a war he cannot finish. On the Republican side, John McCain’s resurrected political fortunes will pit the man who believes he has fixed the mopping-up problem in Iraq against the man who can claim in all innocence that he was against the Iraq war from the start. Both candidates support the troops and respect General Petraeus, who came close to being Time Magazine‘s “Person of the Year.” Either McCain or Obama may grace a future cover of Time as the man who ended the war that no one no longer wants but no one also wants to lose. But this is as unpredictable as the eventual success of the “surge” as a strategy to bring about a stable Iraq.
About that surge… Republicans in the main see it as working; democrats tend to see the whole war as a unilaterally Bush diversion from the real terrorists and the surge as a desperate ploy for time, too little and too late. So is the surge working? Continue reading About that Surge
The Iraqi Poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab
[Note: This is the 15th in a series of translations of selected letters of the noted Iraqi poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab. For more information on the poet, click here.]
Letter #15
Basra 3/16/1962
My Dear Brother Yusuf (al-Khal),
I miss you very much, but we will meet soon, God willing. I received a telegram from Simon Jarji in which he asks me if I can be in Beirut between the 10th and the 17th of April. He also says that the International Organization for the freedom of Culture will bear the expense of my travel and lodging. I will be in Beirut between these dates, with God’s help.
I now have “21†new poems, and I will strive to find a buyer for these poems in Beirut. I am in extreme poverty and will come to Beirut carrying only a few Dinars in my pocket. Perhaps you will be able to arrange something for me while I am in Beirut. As for waiting for a month, this is extremely difficult. I will write the “The Iraq Message†for you while I am in Beirut. All the literary news is in Baghdad…I will visit Baghdad on my way and will gather from there all the news that fits to be included in the “Message.†Continue reading The Letters of Badr Shakir al-Sayyab: #15
The Iraqi Poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab
[Note: This is the 14th in a series of translations of selected letters of the noted Iraqi poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab. For more information on the poet, click here.]
Letter #14
Basra 12/18/1961
My Dear Brother, Abdel Karim (al-Na’im),
I see you blaming me for the disruption of correspondence between us. However, I was the last one to send you a letter right before my departure for Italy………….. [paragraph omitted]…..
The Arabic Literature Conference in Rome was extremely successful. We have succeeded in making the West understand that the Arab writer today stands among the first rate writers of the world. Some voices were raised in an attempt to undermine the value of Islam and the Arabic literary heritage. However, we silenced these voices. Moreover, all the Orientalists, who have been more zealous about our cause than the protégés of Arabic literature, have supported Arabism and Arabic literature. Continue reading The Letters of Badr Shakir al-Sayyab: #14
The Iraqi Poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab
[Note: This is the 13th in a series of translations of selected letters of the noted Iraqi poet Badr Shakir al-Sayyab. For more information on the poet, click here.]
Letter #13
Basra 7/13/1961
My Dear Brother Abdel Karim (al-Na’im),
I send you an Arab greeting.
It was good of you to write to me again especially after I lost, along with a number of papers and poems, your previous letter in which you mentioned your new address.
Regarding the campaign of “al-Adaab†against me, let me explain. About two years ago, Suheil Idris requested my approval to let Dar al-Adaab publish my poetry collection. I promised they could, and he was waiting for me to send him the drafts. However, I had no drafts except the poems that had been previously published in the journals “al-Adaab†and “Shi’r,†etc. Then the “Shi’r†journal volunteered to search for my poems and collect them. In the meantime, my collection, “Hymn of the Rain,†was published. All of this together with my decision to cease publishing in al-Adaab and limit my publishing only to “Shi’r†angered Suheil Idris. Furthermore, it is clear that Mr. (Elie Hawi) wanted – in his criticism – to prove that his brother, Khalil Hawi, was a better poet than I. Continue reading The Letters of Badr Shakir al-Sayyab: #13
