Iraq 2011: The Return of the Poets
Iraqi poet Muzaffar al-Nawab. (Photo: Al-Akhbar)
By:
Hussam al-Saray
Published Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Poet Muzaffar al-Nawab’s visit to Baghdad in May 2011 was one of Iraq’s
national and cultural highlights this past year.
In addition, after a series of protests over the last year, Iraqi
intellectuals succeeded in preserving the legacy of the poet Muhammad Mahdi
al-Jawahiri (1899-1997) by preventing the sale of his house in Baghdad, which
had been slated to be converted into a commercial space.
Many creative people passed away in 2011, perhaps the most significant of
whom was theater director Hadi al-Mahdi, who was assassinated in September;
pioneering sculptor Muhammed Ghani Hikmat; music critic Adel al-Hashimi, who
died suddenly in Cairo; and pioneering novelist Mahmoud Abdul Wahab.
Other important individuals who passed away in the past year include
archaeologist Donny George; critics Qassim Olwan and Adnan Quttub; poet and
journalist Muhammad Darwish Ali; his colleague Salam al-Nasser; the poets
Mahdi Muhammad Ali and Ali al-Shibani; linguist Nima Raheem al-Azzawi; writer
Mahmoud Zamdar; and the poet and artist Khaled Dulayr.
The growth of new cultural organizations in Iraq during 2011 has not been as
impressive as other years. The initiative “Young Baghdad,” started by the
poet Abdul Khaleq Kaytan, has gone quiet after he returned to Australia.
Other organizations that were established in 2011 have been limited in their
activities since being established. One such group, the collective “We Are
Baghdad,” was set up by the musician Naseer Shamma in response to the Mercer
Consultancy Group’s choice of Baghdad as the worst place to live in the
world.
One of the more significant phenomena that has evolved during the last few
months has been Iraqi intellectuals establishing networking and dialogue
groups on Facebook, similar to electronic cafes.
These internet-based groups include “The Generation After the Change,” for
poets who appeared after the American invasion; “We Want to Know,” which aims
to investigate events in a transparent and responsible way; and “My Nose
Writes Stories,” which is administered by the novelist Ahmad Saadawi to share
Iraqi, Arab, and international narratives.
Activists and intellectuals have also been reacting to the Arab Spring since
January. They issued statements and came out in solidarity in Baghdad’s
public squares.
Many of them have joined and supported the popular demonstrations against
corruption and deteriorating social conditions in Iraq which began in
February. Some of these activists and intellectuals have even been detained
and humiliated by the security services.
Despite this cultural activity, the desire to leave the country has been on
the minds of many intellectuals and artists due to a general feeling of
despair and the intensification of political conflict and instability in
Iraq.
The poet Shaker Laibi, who came back a few months ago with the intention of
settling in Baghdad and returning to academia, quickly changed his mind and
went back to Tunis.
Despite the overall gloom of the situation, there have been glimmers of light
and successes here and there.
The first round of the Baghdad International Book Fair was held from April 20
to May 5. Najaf hosted the Theater Forum and the International Iraq Short
Film Festival in 2011 as well as the Second Festival of World Poetry, which
the city hosted in November.
In the cinema scene, Iraq won several prizes. The documentary film, Cola,
by Yahya al-Allaq won second prize at the Gulf Film Festival in Dubai. The
film also won the prize for best documentary at the Beirut International Film
Festival.
Qutayba al-Janabi’s film, Leaving Baghdad, won best film at the Gulf Film
Festival in Dubai and director Sahim Omar’s film, The Land of Heroes, won
second prize in the Arab Muhr Competition for Short Films at the Gulf Film
Festival.
Akram Hido’s film Halabja – the Lost Children won the special judges’ prize
for documentaries in Dubai.
Meanwhile, a few local festivals took place such as the Baghdad International
Film Festival in October, which critics say “was not a complete disaster, but
experienced some clear organizational failures.”
The same could be said of the Mirbad Poetry Festival in Basra during April,
which did not succeed in overcoming the mistakes of past years.
The ability of publishers to market Iraqi books did not improved last year.
Writers continue to seek Arab publishers who will market their work with many
local publishers still unable to make a success of their publications.
Meanwhile, publishers established abroad before 2003, such as Al-Jamal and
Al-Mada, have continued to participate in Arab and international book fairs.
This article is an edited translation from the Arabic Edition.
مظفّر زارنا... والجواهري
«باق» في بغداد
حسام السراي
لعلّ زيارة الشاعر الكبير مظفر النواب (1934 ـــــ الصورة) لبغداد في أيار
(مايو) مثّلت حدثاً ثقافيّاً ووطنيّاً احتل واجهة المشهد الثقافي في بلاد
الرافدين عام 2011. مثقفو العراق، بفضل احتجاجهم المتواصل، نجحوا أيضاً هذا
العام في المحافظة على تراث الشاعر محمد مهدي الجواهري (1899 ــــ 1997)؛ إذ
منعوا بيع بيته في بغداد وتحويله إلى مبنى تجاريّ.
المبدعون الذين رحلوا هذا
العام كثيرون، لعلّ أبرزهم الفنّان المسرحيّ هادي المهدي الذي اغتيل في أيلول
(سبتمبر) الماضي، والنحّات الرائد محمد غني حكمت، والناقد الموسيقيّ عادل
الهاشمي الذي رحل بنحو مفاجئ في القاهرة، ثمّ القاص الرائد محمود عبد الوهاب.
ومن بين الراحلين أيضاً: عالم الآثار دوني جورج، والناقدان قاسم علوان وعدنان
قطب، والشاعر والصحافيّ محمد درويش علي (بعد إهمال المناشدات لإنقاذه)، وزميله
سلام الناصر، والشاعران مهدي محمد علي (توفي في حلب)، وعلي الشباني من دون أن
ننسى العلامة اللغويّ نعمة رحيم العزاوي، والأديب محمود زامدار، وأخيراً الفنّان
والشاعر خالد دلير.
ادب وفنون
العدد ١٥٩٦ الاربعاء ٢٨ كانون الأول ٢٠١١