Two Matar Poems

يقظة Awakening صباح هذا اليوم This morning أيقظني منبه الساعة The alarm clock woke me up و قال لي : يا ابن العرب And told me: oh son of Arabs قد حان وقت النوم ! It is time to sleep! انحناء السنبلة The Stalk Bows أنا من تراب وماء I am made from dust and …

Arabism in El-Jakh’s The Visa

Hisham El-Jakh's popularity has been skyrocketing for a while in Egypt. His style reminds me of an Egyptian Ahmad Matar - direct, more polemical than lyrical, often sarcastic and dependent on the poetic equivalent of punchlines that might have more relevance at a certain time and in a certain context - such as the FIFA …

Land of Hypocrisy

Land of Hypocrisy by Yusuf al-Sibai was published in 1949, the year after the Nakba. It is a bare-faced allegory which the writer dedicates ironically to “the best of those who deserve dedications” that is, himself, with the explanation that he values himself and does not want to be the first character identified in the …