Poeticians

Last month, during my trip to Lebanon, I was graciously invited to read at an event by a wonderful poetry group called the Poeticians (you can see the group's Facebook page here). Here's how I described the evening in an email to a friend:

I was a bit anxious and apprehensive about it, as I hadn’t read in so long, and I’ve never read in Lebanon. I decided since my mother was going to be there that I’ll read half of the poems in Arabic (since her English is rudimentary). So I translated a few poems, and picked the couple that I thought worked best in Arabic. The reading went really well. It was in this nice hip café in an old house in the city, with large vintage stills from old Arabic movies and stars on the walls. The crowd was predominantly young (around our age), the music was familiar and nostalgic, and the people were sipping araq (a liquor like ouzo or sambuca) while listening… It felt like a homecoming of sorts. Even though most people read in English, a few people came afterwards to tell me that they liked my Arabic poems better and were surprised to learn that they were originally written in English. My brother’s theory is that because my spirit still “feels in Arabic”…

Here are links to the poems I read:

• أحلام بوهيمية (Bohemian Dreams)
• عابرون (Crossings)
• I Thought We Were
• Cover Your Eyes
  

And here are links to the poems on the 4 postcards:

• Ten Years
• Pieces of Me
• The Memory of Me
• Absence Materialized
  

I was very grateful for such a wonderful night, and thrilled to meet such an impressive group of poets. Thank you, again, for inviting me to be part of you...