#syrian literature

[t0rschlusspan1k]

I was wounded early, and early I learned that wounds made me.

Adonis, Celebrating Childhood (Selected Poems, 2010)

[gennsoup]

I spent the rainless evenings standing in fields at sunset, waiting to be raptured into the green flash of twilight, wishing there were another way to exist in the world than to be bodied.

Zeyn Joukhadar, The Thirty Names of Night

[valseorcstra]

Saadallah Wannous, On Memory And Death

Published in 1997/ a imaginative mélange of essay with short story & play formats

[soracities]

Maram al-Massri, from A Red Cherry on a White-Tiled Floor (trans. Khaled Mattawa) [ID'd]

[oneminutefriend]

From a distance, above his house               a perplexed moon dangles               from threads of dust.

Adonis, “Desert” (trans. Khaled Mattawa)

[typewriter-worries]

My lover asks me: "What is the difference between me and the sky?" The difference, my love, Is that when you laugh, I forget about the sky.

My Lover Asks Me, Nizar Qabbani

[quotelr]

It’s not a bad thing, if you’re responsible about it. Just don’t start having boyfriends. Wait until you’ve found your husband.” “And how am I supposed to find a husband if I can’t have a boyfriend until then?” I asked ironically.

Zack Love, The Syrian Virgin

[eat-read-apply]

As Long As Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh. Published on 13th September 2022.

This one is a historical fiction set in Syria. Im not a fan of historical fictional purely due to the heartbreak that comes with it. For me its too heavy to carry,but this one was highly recommended by a dear book lover.

This debut novel of Katouh is equal parts heart warming and heart wrenching. Salama is an independent,strong muslimah who lives for her only surviving family Layla (sister in law). While Kenan who has vivid green eyes,is a green flag altogether. Together they made my heart melt. Strong willed,determined,practical & family oriented are some of the few adjectives to describe them. Then there is Salama's hallucination,Khawf,a symptom of the horrors she has seen.

The horros of the revolution are gut wrenching. Katouh has sensibly poured on paper the tragedies & harsh realities of Syrians which aren't talked about much.

Lastly,the major symbol of hope - Lemons. Salama packs lemons as a cure of seasickness due to their refreshing & citrusy nature. As long as lemon trees grow,hope will never die.

Favourite quote : "Don't focus on the darkness & sadness. If you do,you won't see the light,even if its staring you in the face"

[bloodorangesandtea]

Adonis, Selected Poems

[swanasource]

“I wanted to show that we have agency and can tell our stories in our own way. We don’t need people speaking over us all the time,”

Inside a Groundbreaking Anthology That Sheds Light on 18 Queer Arab Voices

[booksbyadesi]

"My letters to you

Are greater and more important than both of us.

Light is more important than the lantern,

The poem more important than the notebook,

And the kiss more important than the lips.

My letters to you

Are greater and more important than both of us.

They are the only documents

Where people will discover

Your beauty

And my madness."

Nizar Qabbani.

[wisdom-and-such]

“[Love]He grinds you to whiteness. He kneads you until you are pliant; And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God’s sacred feast.

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life’s heart.

But if in your fear you would seek only love’s peace and love’s pleasure, Then it is better for you that you cover your naked- ness and pass out of love’s threshing-floor, Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.

Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself Love possesses not nor would it be possessed; For love is suf- ficient unto love.

When you love you should not say, ‘God is in my heart,’ but rather, ‘I am in the heart of God.’

And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.’

--On Love; from ‘The Prophet’ by Khalil Gibran

[gennsoup]

But that's the thing about money, isn't it, that it's a slippery, shifting thing. Money can be the difference between sleeping in a bed or a bus station, can help build a home for thirty different kids of birds, can pay rent and electricity and ease your grandmother's anxiety so she stops rationing her medication. But it's not that simple, is it, when the money has to come from somewhere, or someone, with power.

Zeyn Joukhadar, The Thirty Names of Night

[baebeylik]

Chronicles of Oklahoma, Volume 64, Number 2, Summer 1986.

Caldwell, Tom. From the Hills of Lebanon: The Syrian-Lebanese in Oklahoma, article, Summer 1986; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Source: https://gateway.okhistory.org/ark:/67531/metadc2031529/m1/1/

[soracities]

Maram al-Massri, from A Red Cherry on a White-Tiled Floor (trans. Khaled Mattawa) [ID'd]

[jarviskingston]

🏀⛹🏿⛹🏿‍♂️