São Paulo – The Palestinian writer and poet Mahmoud Darwish was considered a man of the resistance, an advocate of his people’s causes. He wrote verses on the history and pains of Palestine. Poems by Darwish, who died in 2008, will be presented to Brazilians at Casa das Rosas in the city of São Paulo on October 15 in the poetry reading event Recital Chama Poética.
Darwish’s verses will be read by Fernanda de Almeida Prado, founder of the Chama Poética project (Poetic Flame, in a literal translation), which supports poetry, literature and music. The poetry recital will also feature Arab music, including poems by the Palestinian set to music. Two refugees from Palestine, Salam Alsayyed and Oula Al-Daghir, along with Brazilian Leonardo Bianchini, will be the musicians playing.
In an interview with ANBA, Prado said that the idea for the recital came up during a talk with Alsayyed and Bianchini. She told them she had been in touch with the Palestinian poet and suggested that they could all do something together involving the work of Darwish. Prado was introduced to the famous poet in a poetry festival in Italy, in 2008, shortly before his death. Prado’s father, Antonio Lázaro de Almeida Prado, a journalist, college professor and poet, talked at length with the Palestinian during the festival and from this talk arose her wish to cover his poetry.
“A poet from the resistance”, describes Prado, who, in addition to being a screenwriter, director and producer, is also a psychoanalyst. Darwish wrote about his relationship with the land, its cities, the desert, love, the Arab identity, among other themes. The poet was born in a village that was completely destroyed by Israel in the 1940s. After living with his family as a refugee in Lebanon for a year, he returned and found out that his village was replaced by Israeli homes. He was politically active, was arrested a couple of times, and is considered the National Poet of Palestine.
Oula and Alsayyed will sing in the Mahmoud Darwish poetry reading event. The Palestinian refugee will also play the lute with Brazilian musician Bianchini playing acoustic guitar. Prado hopes that the meeting will attract regular poetry reading-goers and people directly interested on the Arab theme or on Darwish’s poetry, as well as members of the Arab community in Brazil, Palestinians and refugees living in the country.
The Chama Poética project occasionally holds poetry readings at Casa das Rosas and also in the Sesc (Social Service of the Commerce) units, in addition to other places such as universities and festivals. Prado is also working on another project, Inconsciente LIterário (Literary Unconscious, in a literal translation), which mixes literature and psychoanalysis. One of the next meetings will be the talk “Freud, reader of Shapespeare” with psychoanalyst Christian Dunker on September 28 at Sesc Pinheiros in the city of São Paulo.
Quick facts
Chama Poética Poetry Reading on Palestinian Mahmoud Darwish
On October 15, Saturday, from 7 pm to 9 pm
Casa das Rosas – Av. Paulista, 37 – São Paulo – SP
Phone: + 55 (11) 3285-6986
Free admission (no advance reservations required, since there will be a screen outside)
Find out more: https://www.facebook.com/events/210993929303417/
*Translated by Sérgio Kakitani
