Iraqi poet and scholar Ghareeb Iskander lives and writes in London: Great Perplexity By Ghareeb Iskander Translated by Salma Harland * In translating Derek Walcott, Words stalk Like egrets do In his later poems, Where he wanted To speak of regret But was overshadowed with delight In a frenzy “like a shallop with a staved-in … Continue reading Monday Poetry: Ghareeb Iskander’s ‘Great Perplexity’
Reading T.S. Eliot in Arabic: A Talk with Ghareeb Iskander
"Saadi Youssef, in his introduction to the translation of Song of Myself, criticizes those who described Whitman as a "Sufi" poet, but he uses mystic language in his translation of Whitman’s masterpiece. It’s fascinating how a text was read and transformed into different forms and styles."
New in Translation: ‘Song of Myself’ by Ghareeb Iskander
"There are silent voices inside me. / I will free them now / I will free also / The letters of love words / Suffocated in my mouth."
‘The Responsibility of Translating Other Poets’
"One clear change since 2003 has been in the themes taken up by Iraqi poets and novelists and, indeed, by artists generally."
