أحمد يماني, شاعر و مترجم مصري نشر أربعة دواوين في الشعر. ولد في القاهرة عام 1970 و حصل على شهادة البكالوريوس في الأدب العربي من جامعة القاهرة في العام 1992.ترجم قصيدته المسماه بـ "يوتوبيا المقابر" الى الإنجليزية المترجم سنان أنطون, و ستنشر في مجموعة بيروت39 الأدبية.
ويذهب يوسف رخا المشارك في مهرجان بيروت 39، في مقال نقدي له، إلى أن يماني - ومعه إيمان مرسال - أعادا اختراع اللغة في قصيدة النثر. "لقد جردت هذه الأصوات [التسعينية] الخطاب من شوائب الأدلجة، وعبرت عن هموم إنسانية دون التقيد بأية ملامح قومية، كما أبرزت هوية فردية تستعيض بالصدق عن الأصالة".
فلنبدأ من عنوان قصيدتك, "يوتوبيا المقابر". غالبا ما أشعر بالراحة حين أسير في مقبرة, لعل سبب ذلك يعود إلى اليقين في معرفة أين سأكون بعد موتي. و لكن بالنسبة لك تبدو المقبرة كمساحة مثالية, أو يوتوبيا إلى حد ما, لماذا؟
أود أن أذكر بداية أنني كتب هذه القصيدة منذ أعوام طويلة وأنا في الثانية والعشرين من عمري وكنت مشغولا للغاية بفكرة الموت ومرتعبا منه إلى درجة نفيه في القصيدة وجعله حياة أخرى أو بيتا جديدا، كان علي أن أتصالح مع الموت وأن أراه بسيطا. ربما حررتني شخصيا هذه القصيدة من الرعب إلى حين.
لا أعرف، إن كنت تقصدين موتها في الفن فلا أظن ذلك ولا في الحياة عموما، على أن السخرية فن صعب للغاية كما هو معروف. يفرق عبد السلام بن عبد العالي بين التهكم والسخرية فالمتهكم ينطلق من مكان أعلى ويصدر تهكمه عن إحساس بالقوة ولذا لا يتهكم على نفسه بينما السخرية متواضعة تسخر من نفسها أولا، ويرى أن سقراط متهكم وأن نيتشه ساخر.
المقطع رقم 5 أشبه ما يكون بطقس جنازة. هل فكرت يوما بكتابة رثائك الخاص؟
"من نافذة بيتي وبمنديل أبيض أقول وداعا لأشعاري التي تسافر نحو الإنسانية، ولست سعيدا ولا حزينا فهذا هو مصير الأشعار".
Ahmad Yamani is an Egyptian poet and translator who has published four books of poetry. He was born in Cairo in 1970 and earned a BA in Arabic literature from Cairo University in 1992. His poem titled The Utopia of Cemeteries was translated into English by Sinan Antoon and will be published in the forthcoming Beirut39 anthology.
Youssef Rakha, a Beirut39 participant (see interview below), considers Yamani’s work to be the core of the 90s generation. Rakha says Yamani, along with the writer Iman Mersel, have reinvented language, “They de-ideologised discourse, de-nationalised human concerns, and acknowledged their (post) modern identity in genuine rather than authentic registers.”
Interviewed by Sousan Hammad
Let’s start with the title of your poem, “The Utopia of Cemeteries”. I often feel comfort in walking through a cemetery -- perhaps it’s the certainty of knowing where I will be after my death. But for you it seems to be a space of ideal perfection, or utopia. Why?
First, I would like to remind you that I wrote this poem years ago when I was 22 and completely preoccupied and frightened of the notion of “Death”. I was so frightened of the idea that I completely denied it in my poem giving it, perhaps, a new life, or a new home. I had to make peace with death and view it in a simpler manner. Perhaps, this poem freed me from the terror I experienced temporarily.
All of your paragraphs are narrated from the existence of the nonexistent. Somewhere between the layers of God’s shadow looming over your bones and the contemplation of a protest against the tyrannical angels, lays the weapon of wit and satire. Satire: is it dead?
I cannot answer. If you mean the death of cynicism in arts, or in life in general, then I doubt it. Satire is a very complex art as you may know. Abdul Salam Ben Abdul Aali differentiates between satire and cynicism. In cynicism, the speaker speaks from a higher power, exuding a sense of superiority; whereas satire criticizes itself first and foremost. Therefore, it is thought that Socrates is a cynic, whereas Nietzsche is a satirist.
Paragraph # 5 is almost like a funeral rite. Have you ever thought of writing your own elegy?
I am not generally passionate about panegyric poetry. Poetry that commemorates the dead, specifically in Arabic literature, is one of the weakest links, in my opinion, as it is spoken from a mono-vision perspective, or at least that is how I imagine it to be. Perhaps one line by Fernando Pessoa sums up the idea of commemoration:
“From the highest window of my house
With a white handkerchief I bid good-bye
To my poems going off to humanity.
And I’m neither happy nor sad.
That’s the destiny of my poems.”
Reading paragraph #8 makes me want to uncover the buried and dead just so I could listen to more of the cemetery dialogue that you weave seamlessly in your text. It’s a mournful poem only because it seems that even in our coffins we try to make sense of freedom and its question of attainability. But what of The Red Notebook? Where is death in this story?
The Red Notebook has a whole different story of itself. It regards a semi-coincidence that I faced while reading a small book by Paul Auster titled “The Red Notebook” that talks about coincidences he faced personally. Therefore, I wanted to record my story.
You are now earning a doctorate in Spain at the Universidad Complutense de Madrid. What will your dissertation uncover?
I must say first of all that I am still in the process of earning my doctorate which will be discussing “Arabic prose poetry”. What is intriguing is that Spanish prose poetry faces almost exactly the same hardships that prose poetry written in Arabic faces, be it mixing it up with other “literary genres” such as free-verse and poetic prose, etc.
Sadly, this is applied to the same degree at the academic level since very few serious studies discuss this matter. However, notable names that research this subject include Pedro Aullón de Haro – a scholar in the field who studies it from unorthodox perspectives – and María Victoria Utrera. Of course, you can imagine the lack of any reference that discusses the Arabic prose poetry in Spanish libraries.
And, finally, what do you anticipate will come out of your participation in the Beirut39 Festival?
I anticipate this upcoming gathering from various stances, be it Beirut itself, the city which represents to me its poets, writers, artists, as well as its own presence, or my dream to visit her which has always been delayed for various reasons. Also, meeting up with friends whom have been chosen to participate. Following the footsteps of Bogota39, I believe Beirut39 will be an important event that will somewhat help introduce Arabic literature, which unlike so many other literatures, has not reached as many readers even though it is not any less important.
Where to buy titanium trim - The Tatyanka Group
ReplyDeleteThe Tatyanka Group is a company principally titanium body armor engaged in citizen eco drive titanium watch the production of titanium shaving titanium earrings hoops equipment 2017 ford fusion hybrid titanium for the manufacture and production of bursary oil venza titanium glow and