The poet as criminal?

[karmadog]

In the news today, I read an article about a supposedly internationally renowned Iraqi poet, Abdul Razzaq Abdul Wahid. The poet claims that Saddam Hussein is his inspiration for many of his love poems.

Discounting half of what our government says of him as propaganda--just to give him the benefit of the doubt--Saddam is still a monster.

Yet Wahid writes this:

His eyes sparkle like fountains in the sunlight. They flash like lightning. Then they become sharp like swords in his head

This guy is supposed to have won international awards for his poetry, but if I came across similes like this in a poem on Lit, I would vote a '2' at best.

I realize that allowances should be made for bad translation. What I'm wondering is this: Is the reuse of old similes common in Arabic poetry? Is it part of a form perhaps? Or has the fact that this guy has been writing love poems to a violent, genocidal dictator for forty odd years warped this guy's mind? Is it possible for a horrible person to write great poetry? I don't mean someone sad and pathetic, but someone truly awful.

 

[OT]

"Is it possible for a horrible person to write great poetry?"

I'd think yes. Just as Not-Horrible people explore their dark side and write about it; It probably works just as well in reverse. Good poetry is about observation and distilling down to the essence.

Granted, an evil man may write about tenderness or beauty with distain, but still accurately capture the concept.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

Albert Speer, a German Nazi leader, director of Germany's war production, using slave labor, during World War II, member of the National Socialist party since 1931, minister of armaments since 1942, had planning responsibilities over most of Germany's wartime industry in 1943, sentenced to 20 years in Spandau prison by the Nuremberg tribunal in 1946, was one of the greatest architects of the 20th century. I don't think character (or its historical perception at a determined point in time) and talent have anything to do with one another. Throughout the history, you'll probably find that great artists were social deviants in some level more often than not.

I need to check on that Arabic Poetry issue, but some things you just cannot judge without reading the original. It's not even a matter of bad translations, sometimes it's impossible to convey all the nuances of a language as rich as the Arabic.

 

[OT]

Lauren, good point about translation.

A quality of good poetry is describing the familiar in an unfamiliar way, often with a twist of word or phrase. The translated snippet from Wahid sounds "accurate", but may have well lost its poetic attributes in the translation.

 

[WickedEve]

Hitler wanted to be an artist and was even turned down the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. I wonder if any of his men ever wrote him a love poem?

 

[Angeline]

i stole a scarf from jc penney's when i was 10, but my mother made me take it back.....

 

[OT]

i stole a scarf from jc penney's when i was 10, but my mother made me take it back.....

reformed criminals not eligible.

 

[WickedEve]

i stole a scarf from jc penney's when i was 10, but my mother made me take it back.....

I knew you were bad.

 

[Lauren Hynde]

reformed criminals not eligible.

What are you talking about? Didn't you steal that tie you're wearing too?

 

[OT]

What are you talking about? Didn't you steal that tie you're wearing too?

Someone said I should dress for the New Year.
The tie is too tacky and cheap to be stolen. Now if tomorrow I've a Tux, then you'll know a store window may no longer be intact.

hmmm, maybe it's not a tie after all. It could be a scarf from jc penny

 

[Lauren Hynde]

If Ange did it, I'll confess too. When I was three, I went with my mother to a street market and when she looked, I was carrying two or three pieces of lingerie. The thing was, we passed so many stands there was no way she could tell which one I'd taken it from, so we never returned it.

I'm a hardcore criminal. OK, PG-13.

 

[karmadog]

Sheesh! All these thievin' Lit gals! I think we know where all the spoons from the Lit kitchen have gone.

Lauren, I bow to your far superior knowledge of architecture, but I don't care for Speer's buildings. I think they are trying way too hard to be impressive. Sort of like the guy at the party who's always bragging about himself to the point where nothing he says is believable. Speer's buildings seem like they are huge monuments to the inferiority complex. But, as with the Wahid poetry, it is entirely possible that my opinion has been colored by prior knowledge. How about if we take Leni Riefenstahl's movies instead?

I think I should have stated my question better.

Isn't an artist's vision one of his greatest attributes? If Speer, Riefenstahl, Wahid, et al cannot see the monstrous, evil attributes of their idols, shouldn't we question their artistic vision? Or do these artists have souls as twisted as their heroes?

Perverse politics lead to violations of human rights and varied atrocities. If art can change the world (a popular statement, though usually people think only of positive change), what does perverse art lead to? And is it as great a crime as perverse politics?

edited to clarify that I don't mean 'crime' in the legalistic sense, but the moral sense.

 

[MyOpinion]

Angeline? With a pretty name like that?

And Lauren Too!

Opi runs to his room and begins stashing all his poetry books into the wall safe.

 

[Angeline]

Sure Opi

you never did anything illegal. Ever. Right?

 

[HomerPindar]

Sheesh! All these thievin' Lit gals! I think we know where all the spoons from the Lit kitchen have gone.

Eating with a spoon, they don't give us knives ~ Peter Gabriel

Isn't an artist's vision one of his greatest attributes? If Speer, Riefenstahl, Wahid, et al cannot see the monstrous, evil attributes of their idols, shouldn't we question their artistic vision? Or do these artists have souls as twisted as their heroes?

Perverse politics lead to violations of human rights and varied atrocities. If art can change the world (a popular statement, though usually people think only of positive change), what does perverse art lead to? And is it as great a crime as perverse politics?

edited to clarify that I don't mean 'crime' in the legalistic sense, but the moral sense.

The medium of your expression, the modern internet, was started by the US military (arpanet) and developed by Universities. Seeing as the US is the largest manufacturer of weapons around the world, including sales to middle eastern dictators, one must wonder to what degree we are compliant ...

Can we see the monstrousities of our own country? Do we write poetry on it, protest it, refuse to pay taxes to it, change it...?

My, but what a dour return to lit I've just posted...

HomerPindar

 

[Angeline]

Homer!

I was wondering what the heck happened to you!

My, but what a dour return to lit I've just posted...

Welcome back and cheer down, couldja?

 

[HomerPindar]

Re: Homer!

I was wondering what the heck happened to you!

My, but what a dour return to lit I've just posted...

Welcome back and cheer down, couldja?

I promise, no dancing on tables...

HomerPindar