Poets In Arabic-German Poetry Conference Enchanted by the Marvelous beauty of Old Sanaa [Archives:2000/38/Culture]

Tawfeek al- Sharaabi
Yemen Times
Over five consecutive days and two meetings a day (Saturday October 9-13, 2000), the Arabic-German Poetry conference was organized in Sheraton Hotel, Sanaa. The conference brought together quite a good number of Arab and German poets. It set off a flurry of activities for sensitive figures from different parts of the world. It was a bridge of contact and communication between the Arab and western civilizations. The conference was organized by the Ministry of culture and was well-attended. Yemen Times covered this conference and filed the following interviews with organizers as well as participants in the conference.
Dr. Abdulaziz al-Makaleh, President of Sanaa University, member of the preparatory committee for this conference, talked about preparation stages and said It has been postponed since late in the 1980s, owing to the internal affairs that Yemen was busy with. It was already planned that each year Yemen would host an international poetry conference. We started with the French poetry and then with the Spanish poetry and now the German poetry. Therefore, this is not something new. Rather it is a continuation of what we had started in the 1980s.
Regarding the premises of the conference, he said There are three main premises: first, poetry and globalization, second the ego and the other and third the relationship between Arabic and German poetry.
Many poets have presented research papers on these three topics. However, discussions were focused on the last topic, that is the relationship between the Arabic and German literature.
As for his paper, he said I presented a paper on poetry and globalization the main thrust of which is that globalization will grant literature a great push forward. If at all it is dangerous, it is so on economy, and social framework. However, poetry can make use of it to reach places which used to be a matter of impossibility to achieve. Therefore, I can say that its an optimistic view of the future of poetry.
As for the conference he said This conference certainly opens doors and enhances communication between Arabic poetry and other nations poetry. It is certain that this conference, the third of its kind, will provide Arab poets with splendid chances to have close ties and relationship with German poets and certainly will have good outcomes in the near future.
Mustafa Sulaiman, from Jordan, has been living in Germany for the past 20 years. He is a translator and his doctorate was on comparative literature. He talked about the conference and said I feel that there are two important topics to be noted when talking about this conference. First of all, despite Yemens limited resources, it was able to embrace such an important and big conference. This is actually a feather on the cap of Yemen and its people. Second, is the importance of this conference in terms of its program. We are discussing for the first time an important topic which is the recognition of the Arabic literature by the wests. In the west it was commonly thought that Arabic literature was but social anecdotes, stories and legends. However, this view seems to have changed at the present.
There are many points of similarities as well as differences between Arabic literature and German literature. For example, there are points of differences in terms of culture and figures of speech. However, they meet at some points such as when talking about globalization. There may be some common terms. They may also meet when talking about the aesthetics of literature.
Globalization will make poets beat the bands to summarize poetic texts owing to the fact that we are in a fast developing world that needs us to move quickly. We have the internet, information revolution, hi-tech telecommunication and media. This revolution will necessitate short texts and condensed meaning so as to keep abreast with the time. However, I dont think that globalization will create a one-world literature for this will never happen.
Finally, when I came to Yemen I was not aware of what may happen to me here. We used to read about the One Thousand Nights and One Night. However, what we have found is beyond our expectations, the hospitality and generosity of people and marvelous beauty and enchantment of Old Sanaa. I believe no other western country can provide what Yemen has provided us in this conference.
Ursola Haeusgen was born in Munchen. In 1994 she established a center for poetry and in 1997 she founded the International Poetry Library which contains 18 thousand volumes of poetry. She along with Varc Negwirth expressed their strong interest in the Arabic literature and said We have been invited here because we did a series of poetry readings in Arabic and we want to continue this.
We think this gathering is very important because living in contact is exactly the only productive way to get the Arab poets to jump in public. Because to wait for translations and books will take a very long time. However, if such meetings are frequently organized poets from nations will meet and exchange ideas, share experiences and discuss important issues.
They view that the main quality of poetry is that it makes connections without confrontations. Most relations between people are depended on economy and politics. But poetry is the way to know and acknowledge other people in their own way, in their own style without direct interests. So the noblest way to know about other people, for instance, is through their poetry.
Poetry is actually a place where every people have their own stand and their own right.
Mohammed al-Jazaeri, a critic from Iraq, said I presented a critical paper on the comparison between the ego and the other. That is a comparison between the works of German Geuthes and how he is influenced by the east on one hand and Amal al-Jaboris works, living in Geuthes hometown, and her influence by the sources Geuthe was influenced, that is, the ancient Sumarian and Babylonian literature. That makes a connection between two civilizations and cultures.
The western literature has actually influenced the eastern literature at the beginning. However, the west are very much interested in eastern ancient civilizations, specially those of Mesopotamia Persia. Many a poet has been influenced by these civilizations and this was clearly reflected on their poetry. On the other hand, Arab poets were affected by Greek legends.
Abbass Baidoon, from Jordan said This conference has made us know more about the new generation of German poets and poetry. A good number of representatives of the German poetry whose presence in Yemen is a strong proof for their respect for Yemen and Arab literature.
In my paper, I indicated that we can not reach a point of contact between the ego and the other unless we get rid of the other from our sick ego.
Zahra Shirak, born in Turkey and has been living in Germany since three, is a poet. She has already published four collections of poems. Talking about her paper, she said My paper was about poetry and human body and how it affects the human parts. In other words, I think that inner and outer human parts are involved in poetry.
I have been much impressed by the informative discussions that took place in the sessions of this conference. Most important than that are the poems that were translated from German to Arabic and vise versa.
Poetry is a path that may lead a person to almost everywhere. It is something that makes you go beyond the boundaries of time and space to something sublime and elevated.
I can not help but admire Sanaa and its wonderful beauty. Old Sanaa has struck me with its magnificent beauty. Above all, what admired me much is Yemenis, men and women. Wrinkles on their faces go up and not down which is a mark of their happiness. It is rare to find such a thing in Germany.
What is the secret behind that?!
I dont know.
It may be a stroke of luck in a life full of misery and hardships.
She concluded her speech and said I believe that the conference was a resounding success, especially for me. I have met with many Arab poets and I came to know more about the Arabic literature. I think that it has been a successful adventure. I along with my colleagues will go back to our country with many topics in mind and I am sure that Yemen will be the focus of our discussions with our friends there for the coming months.

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