Issue No. 613
Opinion
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21 - 27 November 2002 Issue No. 613 Opinion |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | |||
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Poetry and prose
The relationship between poetry and prose is one of indissoluble bonds. The most significant of literary works tend to be those that are, by their very nature, closest to poetry and one often hears it said that the condition of prose is to constantly aspire towards the condition of poetry. It is a piece of wisdom that has echoed down the ages, just as poetry, historically, has been the prologue to prose.
Any thorough investigation of the roots of literature, whatever its origin, be it Arab or Western, will show that it originates, without exception, within the realm of the poetic. Theatre, for example, has its origins within an oral poetic tradition out of which it could effectively evolve only after the invention of printing processes, its transformation being effectively pegged on a technological development.
My own introduction to literature was effected via poetry. Even when I was reading books that were not literary, such as Al-Kamel -- which is a study of grammar -- the author used verses of poetry to illustrate his points. And what interested me most from reading it were the examples of poetry he used.
If my memory had been better I would, by now, have an immense stock of poetry in my head. I have read thousands of verses. And in my readings from the canon I developed the habit of noting my favourite verses in a special book to which I refer to when I want to cheer myself up. I have bits and pieces from the works of Abul-'Ala' Al- Ma'arri, Al-Buhturi and Abu Nuwas though it saddens me that I can no longer recall the poetry from memory alone.
Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.
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