AN UPDATE OF OUR FALL
The hair delicate
The waves combed it
As if composing lines
Lamenting the deed
The mouth is turned away
From the salt and sand
The ear a pearl’s shell
The murmurs of the tale still wet
To us he shows
Not his bright face
But his back
At us he looks
Not with the keen eyes
But with the soles of the sandals
A picture of parts
An update of our fall
The tiny palm of his hand
Cupped
Mute petals
Beyond time
Beyond border
Marwan Kassab Bachi, "Marionette 2"
AN UPDATE OF OUR FALL
The hair delicate
The waves combed it
As if composing lines
Lamenting the deed
The mouth is turned away
From the salt and sand
The ear a pearl’s shell
The murmurs of the tale still wet
To us he shows
Not his bright face
But his back
At us he looks
Not with the keen eyes
But with the soles of the sandals
A picture of parts
An update of our fall
The tiny palm of his hand
Cupped
Mute petals
Beyond time
Beyond border
In the beginning was the number.
11,500 people dead:
(round number)
4,710 children will neither forget
Nor remember their childhood
In 1900 Ilya Abu Madi, a boy of about ten followed in the footsteps of his older brother and uncle from Lebanon to Alexandria, Egypt. He grew up fast in this port city: he worked for a living, got engaged in Egyptian nationalist politics, suffered the death of his brother, and taught himself the craft of poetry. Eleven years later, he returned to Lebanon, and after a short sojourn took a boat—not unlike the perilous ones that haul today’s refugees through the Mediterranean—and arrived on the US shores in 1911. He eventually moved to New York City for good. In New York he met fellow mahjar (diaspora, émigré) writers, who together formed al-Rabita al-qalamiyya (Pen Association), which left a lasting influence on his work. His main poetry book appeared during the eleven odd years of the PA’s existence, securing him a lasting place in modern Arabic literature.
Hussein Baydoun is a Lebanese artist, architect, and scenographer who is known for his unique approach to set design. Baydoun frequently participates in the creation and development of performances from their early stages with the view that scenography is an essential component to the creation of theatrical work, one no less important than the script. His designs are often inspired by the performance spaces in which he works, where he creates fascinating sets from whatever is available as he challenges conventional notions about theater production, such as in his most recent performance "Alice," which was produced in collaboration with Lebanese playwright and director Sawsan Bou Khaled. In September, Baydoun returned to Cairo to lead a scenography workshop following the same vision. At the American University in Cairo`s Falaki Theater, he worked with six upcoming set designers, in addition to amateurs, on creating imaginative environments from the remnants of old sets and other discarded objects. This video highlights the vision and development of the workshop as Baydoun describes the aim of his teaching methods.
[This video is produced by Medrar TV and is featured as part of a new partnership with Jadaliyya Culture.]
