CAIRO: The poetry of Qassim Haddad, an influential cultural figure in Bahrain who is also the recipient of the Owais Cultural Foundation Prize for Poetry (frequently referred to as the Arabic-language Nobel Prize), will be translated into English by AUC Professor Ferial Ghazoul and Instructor John Verlenden. The project is being funded with a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH). Haddad, who has served as the head of the Union of Bahraini writers, is well known in the Arab world as a poet, writing on political subjects dealing with freedom and progress. According to Ghazoul, Haddad was selected for translation because he “combines the exquisite poetics of ancient Arabia with a modern sensibility and a The National Endowment of the Humanities (NEH) is an independent agency that provides annual grants supporting research, education, preservation, and public programs in the humanities. Applicants for NEH grants face fierce competition and recipients are chosen by a panel of judges composed of prominent intellectuals from around the world. Verlenden noted that the grant is a “natural outgrowth of an institution that mingles scholars and writers of both languages, which has naturally resulted in the recent founding of the Center for Translation.” The centerpiece of Ghazoul and Verlenden's translation will be Hadad's Majnun Layla, a cycle of poems inspired by the tragically passionate story of a seventh-century Arabian poet, and known in variations from North Africa to India. A selection of poems and an introduction to the poet's life and work will combine to create a comprehensive edition of Haddad's work in English. Ghazoul and Verlenden have been working on Haddad's poetry and prose since 2003. “Haddad is a synthesizer of various cultures of both Western and far Eastern,” said Verlenden. “He is looked upon as an example of the new voices coming up in Arab literature that are not confined to their own culture. He is a person who is changing not only the subject matter, but the form of poetry written in Arabic today.” Ghazoul, lead translator, and Verlenden, an English language poet and writer, have been a translation team since 1995. Their first work, Quartet of Joy by Egyptian poet Muhammad Afifi Matar, won the Arabic Translation Prize at the University of Arkansas, sponsored by King Fahd. Their second project, Edwar al-Kharrat's Rama and the Dragon, is currently listed by the Arab Writer's Union as number eight in their Best 100 Arabic Books. The newly established Center for Translation, the AUC Press, and the independent translation projects undertaken by faculty members all “contribute to the intellectual understanding that AUC is committed to becoming a key center for translation,” said Verlenden. BM
