Writing by Faris al-Rifai; Translation by Yusra Ahmed
(Zaman Al Wasl)- A group of Syrian and Arab poets rallied in an online poetry event to draw attention to the deteriorating situation in Aleppo as regime backed by Russia wage brutal aerial campaign on rebel-held areas.
The event was organised by the Association of Talbisa Authors, founded a year ago, collects Authors, writers, poets and people with higher education in Homs.
Aleppo has been the scene of the worst surge in fighting in recent days, wrecking the first major ceasefire of the five-year-old civil war, sponsored by the United States and Russia, which had held since February.
About 300 civilians killed on both sides in Aleppo province since April 22, by intense regime air strikes and rebel shelling, with 155 killed in opposition-held areas and 124 in government-held districts, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Poet Abdul Rahman al-Dheikh, the association’s founder told Zaman Al Wasl that Association has always worked on organising literary events to reflect what was going on ground, as it believes of the power of the word, which is sometime as effective as a bullet, even more in some instances.
The association used to organise a poetry competition each week, where poets from around the Arab world gather, as the association was able to collect poets from Algeria, Egypt as well as Syrian poets.
The competition of recent week has gone alongside what has been happening in Aleppo, poets expressed their solidarity with Aleppo and their confidence in victory.
The poets participation showed the powerful effect of the “word” when it unites with the bullet.
Al-Dheikh detailed that the event started with hopes of victory to Aleppo and showing sufferings of its people, then the event went seemingly where participation reached to 200 one, many of them from different Arab countries, as well as the association’s poets.
The founder of the association explained that all poems would be collected in an electronic collection of poems.
Poet Hassan Ahmed Kamhiyah, one of the participants in the poetry event mentioned that the Association of Talbisah Authors used to launch competition on its Facebook page each Sunday evening, dealing with different matters, but usually, subjects concentrated on events were happening in the same period of time.
“what is happening in Aleppo from shelling and genocides and mass destruction, has pushed us to dedicate this week’s competition to show Aleppo’s suffering”, Kamhiyah detailed.
In regard to the role of art and poetry to face tyrants, Kamhiyah expressed his opinion in the say “art is for art and poetry is for poetry”, as he considered is a justification to escape expressing opinions and attitudes. “Art is for people, art’s job is to show truth, disclose negative aspects and highlight positive issues, many authors and artists have paid heavy price for their honest attitude,”
(Zaman Al Wasl)- A group of Syrian and Arab poets rallied in an online poetry event to draw attention to the deteriorating situation in Aleppo as regime backed by Russia wage brutal aerial campaign on rebel-held areas.
The event was organised by the Association of Talbisa Authors, founded a year ago, collects Authors, writers, poets and people with higher education in Homs.
Aleppo has been the scene of the worst surge in fighting in recent days, wrecking the first major ceasefire of the five-year-old civil war, sponsored by the United States and Russia, which had held since February.
About 300 civilians killed on both sides in Aleppo province since April 22, by intense regime air strikes and rebel shelling, with 155 killed in opposition-held areas and 124 in government-held districts, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Poet Abdul Rahman al-Dheikh, the association’s founder told Zaman Al Wasl that Association has always worked on organising literary events to reflect what was going on ground, as it believes of the power of the word, which is sometime as effective as a bullet, even more in some instances.
The association used to organise a poetry competition each week, where poets from around the Arab world gather, as the association was able to collect poets from Algeria, Egypt as well as Syrian poets.
The competition of recent week has gone alongside what has been happening in Aleppo, poets expressed their solidarity with Aleppo and their confidence in victory.
The poets participation showed the powerful effect of the “word” when it unites with the bullet.
Al-Dheikh detailed that the event started with hopes of victory to Aleppo and showing sufferings of its people, then the event went seemingly where participation reached to 200 one, many of them from different Arab countries, as well as the association’s poets.
The founder of the association explained that all poems would be collected in an electronic collection of poems.
Poet Hassan Ahmed Kamhiyah, one of the participants in the poetry event mentioned that the Association of Talbisah Authors used to launch competition on its Facebook page each Sunday evening, dealing with different matters, but usually, subjects concentrated on events were happening in the same period of time.
“what is happening in Aleppo from shelling and genocides and mass destruction, has pushed us to dedicate this week’s competition to show Aleppo’s suffering”, Kamhiyah detailed.
In regard to the role of art and poetry to face tyrants, Kamhiyah expressed his opinion in the say “art is for art and poetry is for poetry”, as he considered is a justification to escape expressing opinions and attitudes. “Art is for people, art’s job is to show truth, disclose negative aspects and highlight positive issues, many authors and artists have paid heavy price for their honest attitude,”
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