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A review by afrathefish
Almond Blossoms and Beyond by Mahmoud Darwish
4.0
one of his later works, and it’s insane to me that this is considered some of his weaker works. i do agree that some of the latter poems in this collection did tend to go on for quite a lot longer than my little adhd brain could manage at times but nonetheless.
it’s of no surprise to say that darwish’s writing is spellbinding, and hauntingly gorgeous. i’ve now made it a strong goal of mine to learn arabic, so that i may one day be able to appreciate the wonders and the genius of his work in its original form. it was especially hard reading the poems about occupation, as they evoke such strong emotion of the experience, and knowing what is happening now felt too much for my heart. so many quotes from here are engraved in my heart, with the most prominent being “love is not love / but a soul’s lust for flight” and actually i’ve never seen the feeling of love contained in so few words yet hitting the nail exactly on the head. the poem “counterpoint” was also a particular favourite, with such beautiful descriptions of identity and the diaspora experience, especially from the view of a man native to his land. he also articulates heartbreak really well, and it feels like a double sucker punch knowing who his muse probably was. there were also so many distinctly palestinians references in this book that it baffles me that people genuinely believe that palestine was an invention by the arabs so that they wouldn’t have to forfeit land to the british. the arabic language has an upward total of 12 million words, and it’s clear darwish had the knack of employing each word like that of an artist on a canvas - his command of the language must have been exemplary, considering how hard-hitting the poems are even after translation.
all in all, very sexy introduction to darwish’s work. i’m so excited to work through the rest, but i think i’ll take my time.
also this man was very much a boob man. i respect it .
it’s of no surprise to say that darwish’s writing is spellbinding, and hauntingly gorgeous. i’ve now made it a strong goal of mine to learn arabic, so that i may one day be able to appreciate the wonders and the genius of his work in its original form. it was especially hard reading the poems about occupation, as they evoke such strong emotion of the experience, and knowing what is happening now felt too much for my heart. so many quotes from here are engraved in my heart, with the most prominent being “love is not love / but a soul’s lust for flight” and actually i’ve never seen the feeling of love contained in so few words yet hitting the nail exactly on the head. the poem “counterpoint” was also a particular favourite, with such beautiful descriptions of identity and the diaspora experience, especially from the view of a man native to his land. he also articulates heartbreak really well, and it feels like a double sucker punch knowing who his muse probably was. there were also so many distinctly palestinians references in this book that it baffles me that people genuinely believe that palestine was an invention by the arabs so that they wouldn’t have to forfeit land to the british. the arabic language has an upward total of 12 million words, and it’s clear darwish had the knack of employing each word like that of an artist on a canvas - his command of the language must have been exemplary, considering how hard-hitting the poems are even after translation.
all in all, very sexy introduction to darwish’s work. i’m so excited to work through the rest, but i think i’ll take my time.
also this man was very much a boob man. i respect it .