Mohammed Al-Mekhlafi
Writer and Researcher from Yemen
I am not a rooster slaughtered by a grandmother on the morning of the feast,
To understand what excites children when I run headless,
Leaving behind one eye toward the sky
And one eye toward the dust.
This text serves as the introduction to a review of “Poetry in Close Encounter with Thought-Provoking Questions,” authored by Hamid Oqabi, a Yemeni writer residing in France. The book offers insightful readings of the works of Sargon Karam, a Lebanese-German poet. It presents a complex portrait of human reality, illustrating the stark contrast between celebration and the tragedy of death. In this imagery, the rooster symbolizes lost innocence.
The depiction of the “headless rooster running” echoes the chaos and violence faced by individuals in their societies. This image signifies a loss of identity and consciousness, reflecting the internal struggle between the yearning for freedom and the external constraints imposed upon them. The poet deeply explores the human soul, revealing how joy can vanish in an instant.
Karam further emphasizes the relationship between the sky and the dust: the sky embodies hope and spirituality, while dust represents daily reality and mortality. This duality highlights the tension between spiritual aspirations and material limitations, contributing to a rich and evocative poetic landscape.
The book spans 95 pages and was published by Dar ShabakatAtyaf Cultural Studies and Translation in Rabat, Morocco, at the beginning of 2025. It provides a thorough analysis of Sargon Karam’s texts, showcasing their reflection of complex human issues such as identity, loss, and violence, intricately woven into the fabric of daily life.
Oqabi discusses themes of war, alienation, and creativity, enriched by philosophical reflections. He offers a critical analysis that reveals the intellectual and artistic dimensions within Karam’s work, highlighting his ability to blend theatrical and visual structures with philosophical contemplation across four chapters.
Chapter One: What Will Poetry Be Like After War?
In this chapter, Sargon grapples with a profound question regarding the future of poetry once wars have ceased, drawing upon bitter human experiences and recurrent conflicts. His reflections reveal the war’s toll on the human spirit and how art, particularly poetry, can reshape identity and memory.
The poet asks, “What will poetry be like after the war ends?” This inquiry underscores the void left by conflict in the human soul. He intertwines these questions with notions of freedom, depicting it as a garden rich with meanings that opens into new realms, yet remains burdened by the remnants of pain and hope.
Sargon evokes scenes from reality, where poetic images intermingle with feelings of loss and longing. He questions, “What will God be like when chaos reigns?” expressing his belief that creativity serves as a means of survival amidst destruction. He emphasizes that war extends beyond physical suffering, deeply affecting the spirit, with poetry reflecting the confusion and anxiety surrounding the future.
The poet also delves into concepts of justice and freedom, underlining the importance of noble human values, stating, “Freedom opens into new worlds.” This idea reflects his quest for equilibrium between pain and hope, prompting inquiries into Arab identity and its place in a transforming world.
Chapter Two: Love and War in the Dialectic of Human Existence
In this chapter, the intertwining experiences of love and war present a complex dialectic that captures the contradictions of human existence. Love, a profound and innate feeling, symbolizes dreams and renewal, while war brings about destruction and pain. These two elements often intersect, allowing for the creation of literary and artistic works that articulate this relationship.
Sargon Karam’s writings capture this interplay, demonstrating his capacity to absorb tragedies and recreate fresh insights. He poses a deep question: How can one live amidst the contradictions of life and death, love and hatred, hope and destruction? He states:
I beseech the butterflies to guide me
To a symbol that poets have not yet used.
This meditation reveals the impact of war on the human psyche, where love emerges as a refuge from psychological turmoil. Despite the brutality of war, love embodies a deep human desire that transcends pain, as exemplified by the returning soldier who shows how love can inspire hope even in the darkest hours.
This expression illustrates the loss of human vision amidst devastation, where love acts as a means of healing and renewal. The butterflies Karam describes symbolize beauty and freedom, representing a longing for aesthetic grace in a world rife with destruction. He transcends conventional imagery, crafting a new language that encapsulates the need for beauty in times of war, stating:
On something that ignites
Other than the heart and a roll of tobacco.
In these lines, aesthetic elements converge with suffering, striking a balance between hope and despair. At the end of the chapter, Karam invokes the character of Scheherazade, reimagining her as a symbol of hidden knowledge. She opts to keep certain secrets concealed, as he notes:
And folds the book of speech.
This observation clarifies that wisdom resides not solely in words but also in silence and contemplation, deepening our understanding of human existence in the context of love and war.
Chapter Three: The Beloved, War, and the Land in Sargon Karam’s Experience
In “Sundus and Knife in the Caliph’s Garden,” Sargon Karam presents a collection of texts that delve into philosophical depths, transcending the notion of traditional love to explore the connections among the beloved, war, and the land. These texts form theatrical tableaux, reflecting both internal and external conflicts, and demonstrate how love can facilitate self-reconstruction amidst the harsh realities of war.
His poem “Do Not Die Before the War Ends” begins as a desperate plea, linking the beloved’s survival to his triumph over war. The beloved symbolizes not only hope but also inner strength and beauty in a chaotic world. Karam asserts:
Do not die before the war ends.
This plea embodies the existential struggle individuals face in wartime, where love transforms into a force of resistance against destruction. Karam illustrates how war is integral to his identity, enriching his portrayal as a human being. His expressions reveal that love can serve as a tool for transforming pain into hope, as he states:
How I love this war… were it not for it, my face would not be complete.
These statements emphasize the intricate relationship between love and war, positioning struggle as a primary driver of existence and prompting reflections on the meaning of life amidst devastation.
Karam also articulates his rejection of violence, inspired by the ideas of Martin Luther King Jr., who confronted racism and war through the power of love. He clearly conveys this in his texts, asserting that love can be a weapon against destruction. Various elements intertwine in Karam’s poetry, reflecting the struggle between love and war, life and death, through dramatic dialogues that express anxiety and hope. This intermingling creates a rich poetic image that profoundly reflects the human experience in its depth and complexity.
Chapter Four: Roots, Alienation, and the Sanctity of Peace
Lebanese poet Sargon Karam crafts poems infused with dreams and overflowing with love that transcends distances and the harshness of separation from home, bridging roots and alienation. His texts are not merely elegant words; they are vibrant canvases imbued with the spirit of weary Beirut, yet filled with hope. Through intertwined images and profound meanings, the poet opens a window into a poetic realm that merges internal fragmentation with a yearning for global peace.
Sargon Karam, a professor of Arabic language and literature and translation at the University of Bonn in Germany, portrays scenes from his life, articulating his suffering and pain, and invoking the names of cities, particularly Beirut, in many of his poems. He captures feelings of anguish and loss, as if experiencing each moment in full intensity.
These emotions surface in his poem “Beirut,” where he depicts the gathering of crows:
Crows gather to convene
And fall into disarray.
This imagery raises questions about the chaos enveloping the city, with Karam highlighting feelings of fear and anxiety regarding Beirut’s future. Interwoven within these verses are stark images of reality, allowing the reader to feel the city’s wounds.
The poet continues to portray the scene of Beirut, expressing simultaneous love and hate:
In Beirut
I love the people and hate the corpse of the poem
That wafts from me and through me.
Here, the internal conflict between affection for the city and nostalgia for its lost beauty emerges. Karam illustrates how Beirut, despite its struggles, remains a symbol of beauty and life.
The poetic images unfold to reveal a harsh reality, where he states:
And Beirut is the city of desolate poetry.
Karam underscores the challenges the city confronts, voicing his concern that it may become a place devoid of spirit. These images coalesce to evoke feelings of both despair and hope:
Our battered cities crave peace, love, and beauty.
In this statement, Karam encapsulates his own aspirations and those of all who suffer in their homeland, highlighting the sanctity of peace as an essential value that must not be overlooked.
Hamid Oqabi’s Cinematic and Theatrical Approach to Sargon Karam’s Texts
There is a clear need for critical reflections on postmodern poetry, particularly regarding Sargon Karam’s works. Despite their apparent simplicity, these texts embody profound depth, seamlessly blending genres while being rich in connotation. Unfortunately, criticism directed at these works is rare and often impressionistic or descriptive, with Arab critics seldom recognizing voices like Sargon’s that transcend modernity. When such recognition occurs, these texts remain shrouded in multilayered codes, resembling cinematic and theatrical treatments that conceal more than they reveal. As a result, academic or descriptive criticism may struggle to unveil their enchantment.
Hamid Aqbi’s analyses demonstrate a deep understanding of the cinematic and theatrical dimensions within these texts, as he reads, connects, discovers, and reinterprets each scene without passing premature judgment on the text or the poet. He delves into the depths of the ideas, philosophies, and aesthetics contained within the works, occasionally employing cinematic scenes to grasp the images they evoke.
The importance of these engagements lies in their utility for dramaturges and playwrights or screenwriters working with these texts. Hamid Aqbi is recognized for his contributions to the cinematic interpretation of poetry, beginning with his first film, “Attempting to Write with the Blood of a Poet,” about a poem by Abdul Aziz Al-Muqallih in 1997, followed by “Still Life” and “The Lock Film” in 2006 and 2007. He has also published a French book titled “An Introduction to Understanding Sanctity in Poetic Cinema.” His exploration of the intersections between poetry and theater has further deepened his understanding of these texts, particularly following his entry into the world of visual arts in 2020.
In conclusion, “Poetry in Close Encounter with Thought-Provoking Questions” stands as a distinguished work that highlights the intricate tensions between love and war, identity and loss. Through Hamid Oqabi’s in-depth analyses of Sargon Karam’s texts, the book offers a comprehensive vision that transcends mere words, delving into the depths of the human experience. This work serves not only as a critical study but also as a call for contemplation on issues of identity and existence, making it an invaluable reference for those interested in Arabic poetry and literature.
