tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-607719101484462692.post8428651766074160355..comments2024-01-23T12:27:05.258+00:00Comments on The Stone and the Star: Arabic Literature (in English): Translating Al-Saddiq Al-RaddiClarissa Aykroydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08571136118573329263noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-607719101484462692.post-20734815957231408992013-11-20T21:09:14.882+00:002013-11-20T21:09:14.882+00:00I've met him a few times now... I guess he is ...I've met him a few times now... I guess he is pretty laid back. Also, only some of us spoke Arabic (not me, besides a few years) and he's still learning English - who knows, maybe that made things easier... ;) A lot of his input was along the lines of either "yes, this word/expression pretty much means what you think it does" or "well actually, this word has several meanings and in the context of the poem it means something else still". Seriously! It was perhaps an overly challenging poem for a workshop, but it was still a really interesting experience. I think a lot of its references were very Sudan-specific or Sufi-specific. <br /><br />He did read it in Arabic first - when translating a poem, or even hearing the completed translation of the poem, it's always best to hear the original first. You just get a sort of sensory feel for it, even if you don't speak the language at all. It definitely sounded intense, particularly the repeated words. Arabic is a very intense rhythmic language, hard to reproduce in English. Clarissa Aykroydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08571136118573329263noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-607719101484462692.post-4429567037474711172013-11-20T19:33:44.348+00:002013-11-20T19:33:44.348+00:00What an interesting expericence. The poet must be ...What an interesting expericence. The poet must be a very laid back person, I imagine not that many writers would like to sit in a room helping others translate his poems. <br /><br />The poem "Longing" is very intense. I wonder what it sounded like in Arabic. Did the poet read it aloud at the workshop? xPaulahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16549467720857136573noreply@blogger.com