Jamal Nassari to ( Al-alam Al-jadid): Attacking Arabic Prose is a general trend in Iran.
Interview: Maithem Alharbi
Translated by: Amal Ibrahim
After the stages and transformations that prose went through in its structure and context, it starts its journey in Al-Ahwaz (the Arabic city in the southern part of Iran) by pushing the barrier of isolation with a bare hand; saying: there is nothing here but (The Crime)* .. This is the situation today in the Iranian cities of Muhammara, Abbadan, Alfalahiya, and the remaining parts of Khuzestan (the Arabic region in the southern part of Iran) , in these areas prose is moving up and down with the tide of dispute; the argument between originality and modernization.
Traditionalists do not want to believe that all the poetry machinery in hand is worn out and they are simply defending the contents of a museum.
Iraqi Poet Maithem Alharbi interviewed Dr. Jamal Nassari, the organizer of the conference on (Poetry in Prose) that was recently held in Iranian Abbadan city that is populated with original Arabs.
On the sidelines of the conference that is considered specialized in the field, he was asked about the beginnings, its geography, names writing prose there, types of concerns and themes that are reflected, feeding tributaries of structure and context and about the nature of the parallel critical studies that escorted the movement. At last we were lucky to cut some time to speak about all these matters, in their urbanized context, with Dr. Jama,l at the same venue where all disputes are raised and opinions are exchanged concerning the latest trends in prose writing. Pretending that some (Godot ) will end the struggles of the face, hand and tongue of the Ahwazi citizen and save him from prolonged awaiting behind the emergency stand.
For the sake of history and geography
Dr. Jamal Nassari answered our question about the time and place of first prose in the area saying: in Khuzestan Province 2012, a conference was held under the title (the prophet’s poet) and what was unusual about it, is that one single prose text was not included in the program. Four months later, prose poetry writers entered my office, which is (Harmonica) publishing and distribution house to discuss this matter. The poets were: Yousif Alsarkhi, and Hamza Kuti, from Ahwaz where they both organized a previous event on prose and postmodern poetry in ( Alawi ) club in ahwaz. That was the beginning of prose poetry in the area, as a theory and a rising movement. In spite of this pale existence, it was attacked constantly and although Ahwazi classics acknowledged prose poetry in the Arabic basin after that but it was still widely denied in Al-Ahwaz tongue. After the attack we conducted a forum ( prose poetry in Khuzestan) as we addressed and discussed some local writings like (train of insults) by Sayyed Saeed Khajeste, ( play the harmonica) by Kamal Alinizi, ( serpent) by Hamza Kuti, ( unmapped land) by Yousif Alsarkhi, and ( contradictions ) by Rasul Ouda Zada. This was the true foundation. In this forum, ( the speech is still by Dr. Jamal), my poetry collection ( when I die) was also in the spotlight of discussions. The incident was considered the birthdate of a clear and bold statement or the keyword that ran the engine of the movement. The collection was the divider between two stages..as arguments went on mentioning times as before and after this publication. Thrusting from this entrapment into the vast Iranian horizon, we noticed the silence of the storm that once was circulating around this malformed creation that had to be aborted; prose was condemned along with its writers in areas like Al-fallahiya, Al-muhammara, Abbadan, and Ahwaz. They were accused of isolation and being affected by the west along with many other harsh accusations and statements. All this was faced with an essay I wrote entitled (discipline in Ahwazi prose) where it was considered by the insiders of our movement as highly conservative. Then came the other essay (disagreement in Ahwazi prose poetry) that made a further push to the movement and spilled the fertile imagination of (mischievous) prose writers.
Thieves of the flame
Nassari added that prose found its safe haven in young writers; students of the academy; it found the apt atmosphere in listening and writing. After listing the names of the aforementioned pioneers we point out the names of the second wave: Ali Abdulhasan, Ahmad Haydari, Hussein Tarfi, Hasan Tarfi, Hadi Salimi, Aqila BuGhneima, Sadiq Albu Ghbeish, Dr. Elham Latifi and others.
Mirrors
From among the themes and concerns addressed by prose in Ahwaz is the eminent presence of Karun river and Alkarkha river as a turning point in the memory of events. As an agitator, prose poetry addressed the issue of identity that is the inner suffering of affiliation of the Arabic person in Ahwaz, his longing for his native language not as to reach a certain utopia but to seize it. Prose poetry in Ahwaz addressed the term (homeland) that was cooked on the soft fire of the global revolutionist Ernesto Guevara, other themes open on discovering the body, myths, and mirrors. Other forms of content adhere to the vast horizons resulting from high pressure of prevailing ideologies.
The achievement
Printing a number of prose poetry collections: (Solo as deep as the moon) by Yousif Alsarkhi and (Train of insults) by Sayyed Saeed Khajeste, there are manuscripts by toung writers waiting finance to be published like: ( A garden on the banks of Karun) by Ali Abdulhussein, and two other collections prepared by Hamza Kuti.
Exposed
In general, the critical evaluation does not rise to the level of the modern writing movement, according to Nassari. What we find are non-scientific approaches, claims, and personal opinions that keep distant from the very core of the writing atmospheres. Critical essays, if any, are considered outdated compared to the advanced conduct of prose writings on the level of vision.
Tributaries
Concerning the various types of poetry writing, Nassari stated that the modern form is related with the phenomenal incident of the Iraqi poet Bader Shaker Alsayyab, for he is described as the father of Iraqi modern poetry.; though there is a high recognition for Mahmoud Darwish as a supplement. Modern writing as an Arabic written prose strongly finds itself moved by Adonis, Al-maghutt, Unsi Al-hajj and what has been invested from the contribution of the Persian prose by Ahmad Shamlu, Baizen Jalaly and others.
Exupery; our friend
At the end Nassari reminded us that ( the little prince) café that was named after the French writer ( Antoine de Saint- Exupery) continues to be our civilized point of discussions and dialogues that circle the horizons of the Arabic poetry prose in Iran. In addition to what was mentioned, Arabic Poetry Salon in Abbadan, continues to attract those interested in the subsequently developing phases of the prose poetry in Iran related to its origins, crystallization and future.
Interview: Maithem Alharbi
Translated by: Amal Ibrahim
After the stages and transformations that prose went through in its structure and context, it starts its journey in Al-Ahwaz (the Arabic city in the southern part of Iran) by pushing the barrier of isolation with a bare hand; saying: there is nothing here but (The Crime)* .. This is the situation today in the Iranian cities of Muhammara, Abbadan, Alfalahiya, and the remaining parts of Khuzestan (the Arabic region in the southern part of Iran) , in these areas prose is moving up and down with the tide of dispute; the argument between originality and modernization.
Traditionalists do not want to believe that all the poetry machinery in hand is worn out and they are simply defending the contents of a museum.
Iraqi Poet Maithem Alharbi interviewed Dr. Jamal Nassari, the organizer of the conference on (Poetry in Prose) that was recently held in Iranian Abbadan city that is populated with original Arabs.
On the sidelines of the conference that is considered specialized in the field, he was asked about the beginnings, its geography, names writing prose there, types of concerns and themes that are reflected, feeding tributaries of structure and context and about the nature of the parallel critical studies that escorted the movement. At last we were lucky to cut some time to speak about all these matters, in their urbanized context, with Dr. Jama,l at the same venue where all disputes are raised and opinions are exchanged concerning the latest trends in prose writing. Pretending that some (Godot ) will end the struggles of the face, hand and tongue of the Ahwazi citizen and save him from prolonged awaiting behind the emergency stand.
For the sake of history and geography
Dr. Jamal Nassari answered our question about the time and place of first prose in the area saying: in Khuzestan Province 2012, a conference was held under the title (the prophet’s poet) and what was unusual about it, is that one single prose text was not included in the program. Four months later, prose poetry writers entered my office, which is (Harmonica) publishing and distribution house to discuss this matter. The poets were: Yousif Alsarkhi, and Hamza Kuti, from Ahwaz where they both organized a previous event on prose and postmodern poetry in ( Alawi ) club in ahwaz. That was the beginning of prose poetry in the area, as a theory and a rising movement. In spite of this pale existence, it was attacked constantly and although Ahwazi classics acknowledged prose poetry in the Arabic basin after that but it was still widely denied in Al-Ahwaz tongue. After the attack we conducted a forum ( prose poetry in Khuzestan) as we addressed and discussed some local writings like (train of insults) by Sayyed Saeed Khajeste, ( play the harmonica) by Kamal Alinizi, ( serpent) by Hamza Kuti, ( unmapped land) by Yousif Alsarkhi, and ( contradictions ) by Rasul Ouda Zada. This was the true foundation. In this forum, ( the speech is still by Dr. Jamal), my poetry collection ( when I die) was also in the spotlight of discussions. The incident was considered the birthdate of a clear and bold statement or the keyword that ran the engine of the movement. The collection was the divider between two stages..as arguments went on mentioning times as before and after this publication. Thrusting from this entrapment into the vast Iranian horizon, we noticed the silence of the storm that once was circulating around this malformed creation that had to be aborted; prose was condemned along with its writers in areas like Al-fallahiya, Al-muhammara, Abbadan, and Ahwaz. They were accused of isolation and being affected by the west along with many other harsh accusations and statements. All this was faced with an essay I wrote entitled (discipline in Ahwazi prose) where it was considered by the insiders of our movement as highly conservative. Then came the other essay (disagreement in Ahwazi prose poetry) that made a further push to the movement and spilled the fertile imagination of (mischievous) prose writers.
Thieves of the flame
Nassari added that prose found its safe haven in young writers; students of the academy; it found the apt atmosphere in listening and writing. After listing the names of the aforementioned pioneers we point out the names of the second wave: Ali Abdulhasan, Ahmad Haydari, Hussein Tarfi, Hasan Tarfi, Hadi Salimi, Aqila BuGhneima, Sadiq Albu Ghbeish, Dr. Elham Latifi and others.
Mirrors
From among the themes and concerns addressed by prose in Ahwaz is the eminent presence of Karun river and Alkarkha river as a turning point in the memory of events. As an agitator, prose poetry addressed the issue of identity that is the inner suffering of affiliation of the Arabic person in Ahwaz, his longing for his native language not as to reach a certain utopia but to seize it. Prose poetry in Ahwaz addressed the term (homeland) that was cooked on the soft fire of the global revolutionist Ernesto Guevara, other themes open on discovering the body, myths, and mirrors. Other forms of content adhere to the vast horizons resulting from high pressure of prevailing ideologies.
The achievement
Printing a number of prose poetry collections: (Solo as deep as the moon) by Yousif Alsarkhi and (Train of insults) by Sayyed Saeed Khajeste, there are manuscripts by toung writers waiting finance to be published like: ( A garden on the banks of Karun) by Ali Abdulhussein, and two other collections prepared by Hamza Kuti.
Exposed
In general, the critical evaluation does not rise to the level of the modern writing movement, according to Nassari. What we find are non-scientific approaches, claims, and personal opinions that keep distant from the very core of the writing atmospheres. Critical essays, if any, are considered outdated compared to the advanced conduct of prose writings on the level of vision.
Tributaries
Concerning the various types of poetry writing, Nassari stated that the modern form is related with the phenomenal incident of the Iraqi poet Bader Shaker Alsayyab, for he is described as the father of Iraqi modern poetry.; though there is a high recognition for Mahmoud Darwish as a supplement. Modern writing as an Arabic written prose strongly finds itself moved by Adonis, Al-maghutt, Unsi Al-hajj and what has been invested from the contribution of the Persian prose by Ahmad Shamlu, Baizen Jalaly and others.
Exupery; our friend
At the end Nassari reminded us that ( the little prince) café that was named after the French writer ( Antoine de Saint- Exupery) continues to be our civilized point of discussions and dialogues that circle the horizons of the Arabic poetry prose in Iran. In addition to what was mentioned, Arabic Poetry Salon in Abbadan, continues to attract those interested in the subsequently developing phases of the prose poetry in Iran related to its origins, crystallization and future.
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