Poetry Beyond Borders - شعر بلا حدود

In this episode, we recite Mahmoud Darwish's powerful poem "In Jerusalem." After discussing and analyzing our interpretation in the previous episode, we now invite you to enjoy a captivating recitation of the poem itself. Poetry goes beyond all borders, a language unto itself. In Poetry Beyond Borders, listen to literary experts, Dr. Magda Hasabelnaby and  Dr. Rafey Habib, recite and discuss poetry from diverse cultures and eras, enabling you to grasp the power of spoken poetry.Dr. Magda Hasabelnaby is a Professor of English and comparative literature, Ain Shams Univ. Cairo.Dr. Rafey Habib is a Distinguished Professor of English at Rutgers University in the USAIn Jerusalem by Mahmoud Darwish Translated by Fady JoudahIn Jerusalem, and I mean within the ancient walls,I walk from one epoch to another without a memoryto guide me. The prophets over there are sharingthe history of the holy ... ascending to heavenand returning less discouraged and melancholy, because loveand peace are holy and are coming to town.I was walking down a slope and thinking to myself: Howdo the narrators disagree over what light said about a stone?Is it from a dimly lit stone that wars flare up?I walk in my sleep. I stare in my sleep. I seeno one behind me. I see no one ahead of me.All this light is for me. I walk. I become lighter. I flythen I become another. Transfigured. Wordssprout like grass from Isaiah’s messengermouth: “If you don’t believe you won’t be safe.”I walk as if I were another. And my wound a whitebiblical rose. And my hands like two doveson the cross hovering and carrying the earth.I don’t walk, I fly, I become another,transfigured. No place and no time. So who am I?I am no I in ascension’s presence. But Ithink to myself: Alone, the prophet Muhammadspoke classical Arabic. “And then what?”Then what? A woman soldier shouted:Is that you again? Didn’t I kill you?I said: You killed me ... and I forgot, like you, to die.

In our first episode, we start with “resistance poetry”, and who better to start with than the Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish? Let’s take you on a journey as we recite and discuss the poem “In Jerusalem” by Mahmoud Darwish, translated by Fady Joudah. Poetry goes beyond all borders, a language unto itself. In Poetry Beyond Borders, listen to literary experts, Dr. Magda Hasabelnaby and  Dr. Rafey Habib, recite and discuss poetry from diverse cultures and eras, enabling you to grasp the power of spoken poetry.Dr. Magda Hasabelnaby is a Professor of English and comparative literature, Ain Shams Univ. Cairo.Dr. Rafey Habib is a Distinguished Professor of English at Rutgers University in the USAIn Jerusalem by Mahmoud Darwish Translated by Fady JoudahIn Jerusalem, and I mean within the ancient walls,I walk from one epoch to another without a memoryto guide me. The prophets over there are sharingthe history of the holy ... ascending to heavenand returning less discouraged and melancholy, because loveand peace are holy and are coming to town.I was walking down a slope and thinking to myself: Howdo the narrators disagree over what light said about a stone?Is it from a dimly lit stone that wars flare up?I walk in my sleep. I stare in my sleep. I seeno one behind me. I see no one ahead of me.All this light is for me. I walk. I become lighter. I flythen I become another. Transfigured. Wordssprout like grass from Isaiah’s messengermouth: “If you don’t believe you won’t be safe.”I walk as if I were another. And my wound a whitebiblical rose. And my hands like two doveson the cross hovering and carrying the earth.I don’t walk, I fly, I become another,transfigured. No place and no time. So who am I?I am no I in ascension’s presence. But Ithink to myself: Alone, the prophet Muhammadspoke classical Arabic. “And then what?”Then what? A woman soldier shouted:Is that you again? Didn’t I kill you?I said: You killed me ... and I forgot, like you, to die.