Synopsis
In January 2011, the American poet Gregory Carlock travelled to Damascus. There, he met Waddah ‘Azzam, a young writer, who introduced him to the city’s underground of poets, hashheads, and political activists. The pair travelled through Syria together, making translations of one another’s poems, which they performed every week at Bayt al-Qasid – Lukman Derky’s ecstatic gatherings in the basement of the Hotel Fardous. Eighteen months after leaving Syria, Carlock learned that Waddah had been kidnapped by state security forces. For more than a year afterwards, he didn’t know whether his friend was still alive. In that period of limbo, he wrote Waddah a letter. Part travelogue, part elegy, To a Syrian Prisoner of Conscience illuminates the tumultuous weeks immediately preceding the Syrian uprising, offering readers a sustained meditation on politics, friendship, and the nature of the poetic act.
À propos des auteurs
Gregory Carlock is a poet, critic, and scholar of Arabic literature. He earned his B.A. in Architecture and Urban Planning from Princeton University, his M.A. in Middle Eastern Studies from Columbia University, and his Ph.D. in Arabic Studies from the Free University of Berlin. He is the author of "To a Syrian Prisoner of Conscience" (Berlin: Falschrum Books 2019) of the poetry collection "Fire Untouched by Smoke" (with Daniel Lergon, Madrid: Ivorypress 2015), and of a polemic against the Syrian-Lebanese poet, Adunis. He lives in Berlin with his wife and daughter.
Stefan Maneval (Berlin/Halle, Saale) works as a scholar of the Middle East, illustrator, and curator. He earned his Ph.D. in Islamic Studies from FU Berlin. He is co-editor of Muslim Matter (with O. Kasmani, Berlin: Revolver Publishing 2016), a photo book documenting the diversity of everyday Muslim life and material culture, and author of articles on contemporary Saudi politics and society, cultural heritage and the art scene in Saudi Arabia. He is currently affiliated with Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, where he investigates contemporary Theology of Religions from Lebanon. As an artist and curator, he has participated in exhibitions of art, photography, and material culture at the Museum for Islamic Art Berlin, the Wunderkammer Trento, Umam D&R Beirut / Goethe Institute Beirut, etc.
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