It?s been five years since I moved away from my home country of Syria. While this journey was the most difficult thing I?ve ever done, it has helped me to find my true self more than I ever could have imagined.
Living abroad involves joys and struggles that can only be experienced firsthand but, to me, the best part is having the opportunity to share my beautiful culture with friends who are locals in Portugal and others who I?ve had the opportunity to meet.
In this post, I share passages and quotes from 10 of Syria?s most prolific and influential creative spirits, as well as internationally recognized Arabic authors, on life, love, and happiness.
1. Adonis
One of the Arab world?s most prominent poets, Ali Ahmad Said Esber ? better known by his pen name Adonis ? has been regularly nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature since 1988. He is renowned globally, and was awarded the prestigious Bjrnson Prize in 2007 by the Norwegian Academy for Literature and Freedom of Expression, as well as the Goethe Prize in 2011 by the City of Frankfurt.
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?The rose leaves its flowerbed to meet her The sun is naked in autumn, nothing except a thread of cloud around her waistThis is how love arrives in the village where I was born.?
2. Nizar Qabbani
One of the Arab world?s most beloved and respected poets, Largely romantic by nature, his poetry nevertheless confronts deep social issues, combining a beauty and simplicity of style with an investigation into Arab culture and nationalism. Qabbani?s vocal position of women in society has made him one of Syria?s most prominent progressive feminist voices.
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?In the summerI stretch out on the shoreAnd think of you. Had I told the seaWhat I felt for you,It would have left its shores,Its shells,Its fish,And followed me.?
3. Saadallah Wannous
Leading Syrian writer Saadallah Wannous was regarded as one of the most influential playwrights in the Arabic-speaking world. Wannous was regarded as a legend for his astute plays about the human condition and political commentaries on the Arab world.
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?We are doomed by hope, and come what may, today cannot be the end of history.?
4. Mahmoud Darwish
Mahmoud Darwish was one of the most acclaimed poets in the Arab world, and was widely recognized as the poetic voice of the Palestinian people. His twenty books of poetry include The Adam of Two Edens, Mural, A Bed of Stranger, Why Have You Left the Horse Alone, Diwan, and Eleven Planets.
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?We have on this earth what makes life worth living: April?s hesitation, the aroma of bread at dawn, a woman?s point of view about men, the works of Aeschylus, the beginning of love, grass on a stone, mothers living on a flute?s sigh and the invaders? fears of memories.?
5. Amin Maalouf
Amin Maalouf is a Lebanese journalist and novelist who writes and publishes primarily in French. Maalouf?s works, written with the skill of a master storyteller, offer a sensitive view of the values and attitudes of different cultures in the Middle East, Africa, and Mediterranean world.
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?Are you certain that a man?s life begins with his birth??
Above: With Amin Maalouf on 19th July 2019 in Lisbon, Portugal. This was the same day he was awarded the Calouste Gulbenkian Prize in the field of Human Rights.
6. Naguib Mahfouz
Naguib Mahfouz was an Egyptian writer who won the 1988 Nobel Prize for Literature. Among his achievements spanning an extraordinary 70-year career, Mahfouz published more than 50 novels, 350 short stories, dozens of movie scripts, and five plays. Many of his works have been made into Egyptian and other foreign films.
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??Fear doesn?t prevent death. It prevents life.??
7. Ghada Al-Samman
Ghadah Al-Samman is a prolific writer from Syria who has produced over 40 works in a variety of genres, including journalism, poetry, short stories, and the novel. Samman is a highly respected in the Arab world who is becoming increasingly well known internationally; several of her works have been translated from Arabic into several languages.
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?I didn?t fall in love with you. I walked into love with you, with my eyes wide open, choosing to take every step along the way.?
8. Khalil Gibran
Lebanon-born writer and artist Kahlil Gibran became known for his mystical Arabic and English works, earning fame following the 1923 publication of ?The Prophet.? His romantic style was at the heart of a renaissance in modern Arabic literature, especially prose poetry, breaking away from the classical school. In Lebanon, he is still celebrated as a literary hero.
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?Love is the only freedom in the world because it so elevates the spirit that the laws of humanity and the phenomena of nature cannot alter its course.?
9. Ahlam Mosteghanemi
The Tunisia-born Algerian poet and novelist, Ahlam Mosteghannemi has, through her writing led the strong fight against fundamentalism, corruption, injustice, and denigration of women?s rights. she is known for novels such as Fawda el Hawas (Chaos of the Senses), Aber Sareer (Bed Hopper) and El Aswad Yalikou Biki (Black Suits You so Well).
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?Dance like nobody?s watchingSing like no one is listening Love like you?ve never been hurt.?
10. Fatima Mernissi
Fatima Mernissi was a Moroccan sociologist and writer. She was a recognized public figure in her own country and abroad, especially in France, where she was well known in feminist circles. Her books have been translated into several languages, including English, German, Dutch, and Japanese.
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?Nature is woman?s best friend. If you?re having troubles, you just swim in the water, stretch out in a field, or look up at the stars. That?s how a woman cures her fears.?
Was there a favorite of yours not included above? Let me know in the comments!
Above: Among locals sharing about my Arabic culture.
