I thoroughly enjoyed these short interviews, part of the NewsHour Poetry Series. (via Rockslinga)

GHASSAN ZAQTAN: But you have to start from the details.

JEFFREY BROWN: So, where do the details come from in — for your poetry?

GHASSAN ZAQTAN: Memory.

JEFFREY BROWN: Memory?

GHASSAN ZAQTAN: Memory is very important.

JEFFREY BROWN: As always on our trip, we were offered coffee. Here, it turned out to be a good way into talking about poetry.

GHASSAN ZAQTAN: For this uncertain place, for uncertain life, which we have in this area, we have to — to protect our personal history.

and

TAHA MUHAMMAD ALI: I thought that, if I want to express myself, I have to know what is poetry and what is good poetry. And this went together, reading and trying to write.

JEFFREY BROWN: In one short poem translated as “Where,” he writes that poetry hides.

So, poetry hides. How do you find it?

TAHA MUHAMMAD ALI: You have to take the pen and to take a paper, and to be ready to wait for him. Otherwise, he will come and you are not there. As a writer, you have to train yourself to write. Write anything, but every day.

Pictures are usually worth more than a thousand words, each!, but let me parse these two for you to make the extra point that the emotion you get from them is not accidental, but rather planned.

On the left is an under-construction photo of the Development of King Abdul Aziz Endowment:

The development consists of a large podium topped by seven towers of various heights… The podium includes commercial retail center; restaurants and food courts; prayer areas for 3,8000 [sic.] people and a public plaza which will accommodate a future convention center. It’s topped with a four-level car park… The tallest tower with over 100 floors - a 2,000-room, 5-star hotel - is located on the southern side facing the Haram … The tower is designed to be the visual focal center of this mixed-used development and is flanked by the remaining six, lower residential towers … The tower features plaza levels accommodating the reception lobby and information desks, lounges, restaurants, cafeterias, and a ballroom designed for a large, high-end international conference center … The hotel’s typical stories are divided into two sections: residential section at the upper part of the tower and the hotel section at the lower part of the tower. Four Royal floors, VIP Penthouse and a three storey “Astronomy Centre” are located on top of the residential portion of the hotel tower…

and the farce goes on and on; boil more of your blood here.

Compare this to something like the picture on the right; an aerial photo, facing south, of the Parliament hill in Ottawa, Canada. According to the City of Ottawa - Official Plan:

1.4.3 Policies
d. Primacy of Parliament Hill: City Council recognizes the symbolic primacy and visual integrity of Parliament Hill and supports its preservation and enhancement. In this regard, City Council shall protect the visual integrity and symbolic primacy of the Parliament Buildings and other national symbols, and shall ensure the preservation of the scale of Parliament Square by promoting an appropriate building profile on the south side of Wellington Street.

I am sure my Introduction to Architecture professor would be proud that I remembered something from his course. Nevertheless, I wouldn’t mention this to him in a million years, cause I know the mere sight of it would break his heart.

God bless you, Prof. G. H.; May you never come across this atrocity.

(I honestly forget where I first saw this; I will post a link if I remember.)

A collection of all of sharawy’s reflections (in arabic) on the language of the quran in real audio format. They used to have an advertisement that they would send an mp3 dvd for free (to any address in north america, and only for shipping costs otherwise), but I guess they’ve taken it down (after I got mine)…