It’s fascinating how the poem shifts tremendously on the decision of whether to translate الشعب as “a people/the people,” which makes them a collective, or as “people,” thus turning them into individuals.Continue Reading

Who does not, this morning, have hope (and fear) for Tunisia on the brain?

I can’t say much for this anonymous Wikipedia translation of Tunisian poet Abo Al Qassim Al Shabbi’s (1909-1934) “To the Tyrants of the World,” but here it is:Continue Reading