#Nizar qabbani handwritten professional#

Not surprisingly, these young people feel simultaneously connected and distanced as conflicting sectarian accounts thwart all attempts to create a unifying narrative. Not having that old city to return to fills me with an intense sadness and comparably, the post-memory generation of young writers represented here can only connect to the past virtually, for their memories are not shaped by lived experiences of the historical Beirut but rather by stories, photographs, images, and othersвЂ™ recollections of it. Its transformation now into a upscale hub, updated for more global tastes, confines any revisiting to my imagination. For me, that remembered cityscape has become the space of unfiltered experience, of things seen, and absorbed, before being understood. My childвЂ™s imagination was fuelled and my senses awakened to the enticements of a city nourished by a mix of people and cultures teta, by contrast, never failed to caution that an unresolved, violent past would inevitably disrupt the future. Jostled by shoppers and vendors we made our way along dusty, narrow cobblestone streets, accompanied by the scents of exotic spices, a pungent waft from the fish market, and the clip-clop of donkeyвЂ™s hoofs. I was alone, meanwhile, recollecting weekly excursions with my teta (grandmother) to the vibrant, ancient and colorful souks of Beirut, teeming with life and the deafening hum of activity. Chris thought it pure pleasure to explore the central district with students, who fearlessly turned their impressions into polished sentences: вЂњThey saw the city anew, and in their writings so did I.вЂќ For me, the importance of bringing students from diverse backgrounds and universities together to revisit their city and share in the creative process was a truly enriching experience. It was an extraordinary and delightful happening. Angus Gavin, lead architect at Solidere, provided insights into the master plan for the Central District archaeologist Hans Curvers illuminated BeirutвЂ™s rich, multilayered heritage alongside the challenges facing his teams while excavating and preserving ancient sites in a burgeoning, modern city. Held in the heart of down town, it afforded fourteen gifted students from six universities throughout Lebanon the opportunity to fully explore the cityвЂ™s history as an overarching theme, whether in fiction, nonfiction or poetry. In 2011, a second workshop was hosted by Solidere, the Lebanese company charged with renovating and developing the Beirut Central District, and sponsored by English Speaking Union- Lebanon, in particular supported by its Chair Youmna Asseily.

To my delight, a year later, he visited Beirut and together, with the support of Provost Ahmad Dallal, at the American University of Beirut, we organized a two-week workshop conducted by American novelist Claire Messud and poet Tom Sleigh.

#Nizar qabbani handwritten professional#

One evening in Casablanca I shared with Chris Merrill my dream of introducing gifted Lebanese students to professional creative writing workshops. It proved a challenging and thrilling experience-one that has forever altered the way I view workshops and writing. The assignment was to write about my own city, Beirut, and later about the old cities of Fez and Casablanca. Some years ago the International Writing Program at the University of Iowa invited me to participate in a conference held in Morocco.