Nizar qabbani damascus
Qabbani published more than 40 collections of poetry, and two of my favorites, Republic of Love (2003, public library) and Arabian Love Poems (1999, public library), are available in English.Ĭarla: Hi Victoria, my first job provided the opportunity for incredible travel. But do the news stories presenting it as a bleak and dehumanized place get it right? If the city still remembers its jasmine, then its spirit survives. Some would say that it’s an image of the city that doesn’t resemble today’s Damascus.
#Nizar qabbani damascus full version
You can read the full version of Damascus, What are You Doing to Me? in the translation by Shareah Taleghani and immerse yourself in the vignettes where the minarets call “Come to the jasmine” and where the colorful towels of hammams dance in the wind. That leads an orchestra from a willow tree!! How have you changed my culture? My aesthetic taste?įor I have been made to forget the ringing of cups of licoriceįor I have become the first conductor in the world Īnd I forget-while in the Souq al-Attarine.
As someone who created a fantasy jasmine forest, to replace the real one far away, I feel a poignant kinship with the Syrian poet.Īnd in the water of passion many times. The longing for the City of Jasmine gives his words a strong charge, and as I read them, I think of all the places that I miss, all of the colors, scents and voices that make up my memories. He was born in Damascus in 1923 in the old neighborhood of Mi’thnah Al-Shahm, which you encounter time and again in his poems. Qabbani’s poems are romantic and political, erotic and lyrical, breaking conventions and offering a glimpse into his lively, rich imagination. Since 1966 and until his death in 1998, Qabbani has been living abroad, but in his exile he has produced some of his finest poems. Writes Qabbani in one of his most renowned poems, A Damascene Moon. for whereverĪnd poetry is a sparrow spreading its wings and domesįrom Damascus, jasmine begins its whitenessĪnd fragrances perfume themselves with her scentįrom Damascus, water begins. “A Damascene moon travels through my blood Writer Nizar Qabbani (1923-1998) described his native city of Damascus as “the womb that taught me poetry, taught me creativity, and granted me the alphabet of Jasmine.” Although the most fragrant of roses bears the name rosa damascena, Damascus rose, the Syrian capital is known as Madinat Al Yasmine, the City of Jasmine. Each fall it holds a festival in homage of this national flower, with people giving each other stems of jasmine and decorating their home with fragrant blossoms. It was even held in recent years, despite the conflict that left thousands dead and millions displaced, with flowers given to those who lost loved ones.