Poetry and Language

#1

Hi world,

Are there any poets out there? Could you recommend a famous poem and poet from your country.

I try writing poems; Malay (Pantun) and English (Rondeau) poems whenever I am inspired. Would love to read those from other culture.

Thanks in advance,
Cheers,
Ivan

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#2

Hey Ivan,

I don’t typically enjoy poetry myself but because I am learning Persian, my feelings may change in future as poetry is such a bit part of Iranian culture and history.

There are many famous Persian poets. You could try Ferdowsi, Saadi, and Rumi to start. :blush:

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#3

Thanks Candace for the names. Will Google them. Used to read some Persian literature (translated to Malay) when I was in school but never about their poems.

1 Like
#4

I love poetry and have written some in the past, mostly in French.
I podcast I love is Poetry Unbound by Pádraig Ó Tuama. He reads a poem, then explains it, and reads it again. He is also a poet and I find his accent and voice very soothing.

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#5

Thank you Heather ! Haven’t try podcasting before maybe this could be my very first.
I am writing in rondeau, some what an old French style of poetry.

Do you upload your poetry anywhere ?

Cheers,
Ivan

1 Like
#6

Thank you @ivany78 for this thread, I would love if someone takes the initiative and schedule a Poetry reading session in different languages in the Live Environment.

I tried to read poetry in Turkish, Spanish and Russian but I don’t have preferred Poets from these countries. I end up studying and spending much time on the vocab and translation than enjoying the ease of it and the feelings it suppose to give away. Though I am into poetry, I mainly read in Arabic.

Here are few names from the Middle East -first came to my mind-:

  • Mahmoud Darwish, Palestinian -you can also listen to Marcel Khalifa singing his poems and playing Oud-.
  • Ahmed Bakhit, Egyptian.
  • Mohamed Abdullah Abdelbari, Sudanese -his poem “Friends” is one of my favorites-.
  • Farouk Gouida, Egyptian.
  • Mourid Barghouti, Palestinian.

P.S: Not sure if all poets on above list have their poems translated.

5 Likes
#7

Thank you Alanood for the lovely list. I will definitely look them up.

I am open to scheduling it but not sure how I can do that. Would you like to take the lead if you know how.

Cheers,
Ivan

#8

Hi Ivan, I don’t but it’s something I would like to get into. I can share a poem I wrote in French and translated for a “mOther Tongue” publication by the University of Massachusetts a few years ago.

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#9

Yes! Let’s schedule a poetry reading! What day and time would work for people? I think I know where the form is. I’m on NYC/Montréal time.

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#10

@ivany78 I am not sure if I am the best candidate to lead the session :laughing: but here are some ideas:

  • We book the multilingual earth room - so it appears in the schedule in the website (can attract more attendees)
  • Anyone can participate with 1-2 poems in any language
  • Attendees can guess the language in the chat
  • Then the participant can choose to translate part of it (or the best metaphors/phrases he/she thinks worth translation) or give a brief idea about the poem.
  • Then we can move to the next participant.

@heatherk I prefer the weekends (Friday-Saturday in the afternoon or in the evening). Thank you for sharing your writing, now I wonder how your poem sounds in French. Once I read a part of a poem in French (actually I read the translation in one of the social media account, googled it, memorized it in French because I don’t speak the language, then recorded my self :smile: not sure if my pronunciation was right)

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#11

Thank you Heather for the beautiful poem.
So true. So much can be said in a moment of silence.
Cheers,
Ivan

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#12

I am based in Hong Kong. How would that work out for you and Alanood?

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#13

@ivany78 @Alanood I am 12 hours behind Hong Kong time. I could do morning time EST Fri, Sat or Sun so it would be afternoon in Europe and evening in Hong Kong. Would 9 or 10 be too late Hong Kong time?

#14

@heatherk Friday, 9 or 10 AM EST would be 4-5 PM in Qatar, It will work for me. Not sure if it is too late for @ivany78.

#15

By the way, I found out how we can book the room:

"

Simply fill out the following form and allow us at least 24 hours to receive and process it. Any requests that have less than 24 hours notice may not be received in time.

"

Once it is accepted, it should appear in the Schedule.

1 Like
#16

Hi Heather and Alanood,

It’s ok for me, the timing.

Cheers,
Ivan

#17

Great!
Later in the evening I will raise the request, that will give them more than 24 hours to accept and update. I have not yet decided which poem to read :smiley:

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#18

This sounds so cool! I would like to join :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

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#19

Thanks Alanood for taking the initiative. Could you shoot for 9PM Hong Kong time .

Cheers,
Ivan

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#20

Lovely! @OlgaOlina Please join us, we will update you once it is confirmed and reflected in the schedule.

By the way, and since your native is Russian, I have read Парус poem in Russian recently, but had some mispronunciation :smiley:

2 Likes