Literature and Spoken Word
Mamdouh Adwan
Adwan was born in Hama, Syria in 1941. He was a poet,
playwright, critic, and author. He has written more than seventeen collections
of poetry (the first being al-Dhul
al-Akhdhar or The Green Shadow),
24 plays, 23 translated books, 2 novels, a biography of George Orwell, and
several television series, and also practiced teaching at the Advanced
Institute for Theatre in Damascus (Banipal).
Muhammad al-Maghut
Born in 1934, al-Maghut was a Syrian poet and playwright
known for his dark-satire style of writing. He was a prisoner for 9 months in
1955 because he held membership of the opposition Syrian Social Nationalist
Party, and during his time in prison, he developed his unique style of poetry
(Britannica). He is known to be one of the greatest writers of modern Arabic literature,
and is well decorated, including the Syrian Order of Merit (Britannica).
Ghada al-Samman
Ghada al-Samman was born in al-Shamiya in Syria in 1942. She
first spoke French, and eventually learned Arabic, and after achieving a degree
in science, decided to study English literature. She was sentenced in 1966 to
three months for anti-authoritarian expression, and eventually left Syria
without permission (Arabwomenwriters.com). She writes for Arab women and
nationalism, has created her own publishing company, and has become renowned
for her expression.
Abu Shadi
Famous for being the “last of Syria’s hakawati”, Abu Shadi is
a traditional storyteller who performs in Damascus. Hakawati tradition has been
an integral part of Middle Eastern culture. “When I started storytelling, it started
as a hobby, and gradually it became my job” Abu Shadi says, and according to
the article, it is “a job he has done every night for the last 30 years,
sometimes twice a night, leaving to perform at another restaurant immediately
after he finishes at Al Nawfara” (Grantourismotravels.com). The hakawati
tradition of storytelling is slowly dying out.
Images:
Al-Maghut – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad_al-Maghut
Al-Samman – http://www.prsyria.com/en/index.php?id=409
Shadi - http://grantourismotravels.com/2014/02/13/remembering-syria-and-syrians-the-storyteller-abu-shady/
Sources:
Shadi - http://grantourismotravels.com/2014/02/13/remembering-syria-and-syrians-the-storyteller-abu-shady/
posted by Josh Owl @ 3:21 PM
2 Comments
2 Comments:
I really enjoyed reading about some of the famous poets, playwrights, and storytellers of Syria. For not having a traditional theater in their history the Middle East, in general, has so many well-known playwrights. Many of these playwrights and poets dabbled in all forms of literature but it seems like many of them, such as Muhammad al-Maghut, were involved in some sort of revolution that landed them in trouble with the law in one form or another. In fact, the majority of prominent literary figures in the Middle East seem to have some encounter with the law usually stemming from their modern outlooks that appear in their writing. The frequency of this happening leads me to believe that many movements of the Middle East are supported, in some way, by literary figures. Although they are usually not the origin of a conflict the governments of the Middle East can easily accuse them because they are the brave ones who put words to paper for all to read. Although I am sure in the modern day this happens much less I wonder if it still happens. Are literary figures still being punished unfairly because they write what the government may not like?
This is the story I remember on the news in 2011, about a singer famous for protest songs having his voicebox cut out by the Syrian government:
http://freemuse.org/archives/5054
Right now there is a lot of chaos in the Middle East that makes writing and publishing tricky, to say the least. It will be easier to see what is actually going on now from a retrospective view in the future....
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home