- Home
- A-Z Publications
- International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies
- Previous Issues
- Volume 3, Issue 3, 2009
International Journal of Contemporary Iraqi Studies - Volume 3, Issue 3, 2009
Volume 3, Issue 3, 2009
-
-
Poetry resisting oblivion
By May MuzaffarIn the present scene of Iraqi literature it is difficult to draw a comprehensive map of poetry, so the author selects two brilliant Iraqi poets, one from inside Iraq, Raad Abdul-Qadir (19552003), and the other living in the diaspora, Ali Jafar al-Allaq (born in 1945 and presently a professor of Arabic Literature at the al-Ayn University in UAE), and analyses their poetry and poetics concentrating on their recent collections. The study contextualized the poets, shows the affinities, specificities and complementarities their agonies and sorrows and the sublimity of their lyricism. Despite the dim horizons, the two poets resisted silence and oblivion and poeticized their desperation and Iraq's tragedy. The recognition of these talented voices by poets and critics on the literary pages of periodicals brings together the split Iraqi literary scene of inside and outside.
-
-
-
Survival through art and the art of survival
More LessThe impact of the artistic heritage of Iraq visible in monuments and in museums and art education in modern Iraq run by Iraqi and foreign artists in the 1940s and 1950s produced a solid foundation of distinguished Iraqi art that combined modern vision with national imprint. As the political and social situation in Iraq was no more hospitable, particularly through the years of embargo that prevented artists from the basic tools of their art, many young artists left Iraq to neighbouring countries or farther away to pursue their vocation. The author of this article gives examples of the new wave of Iraqi artists living abroad who continue to present Iraqi concerns and distinctiveness while adding new dimension drawn from their surroundings. The eight artists continue the trajectory of Iraqi art that was initiated by the pioneers.
-
-
-
Iraqi resistance has its song
More LessSongs have played an important role in cultural resistance and in national liberation movements. Iraq also developed its resistance songs. Combining poetry with music, lyrics protested sanctions and occupation, violence and disintegration. Being an accessible mode to the masses through CDs and DVDs, songs were disseminated making use of indigenous traditions to express radical positions and mobilize the audience. Folk music and classical maqam as well as religious chanting were infused with concerns of the present moment. The article explains different types of Iraqi musical compositions and the way innovations were introduced to oppose the occupiers. Contemporary singers and composers are cited and their work is contextualized within the drama of occupation and in relation to such battles as that of Falluja.
-
-
-
Book Reviews
Authors: Randa Abou-bakr, Shereen Abou El Naga, Barbara Harlow and Wiam El-TamamiMin tilka al-'ard al-na'iya (From that Distant Land), May Muzaffar, (2007) Beirut: Al-Mu'assasa al-Arabiyya lil-Tawzi wal-Nashr, 103 pp., Paperback, ISBN: 978-9953-36-178-9, US$4.00
Al Tashahi, Alia Mamdouh, (2007) Beirut: Dar al Adab. 270 pp., Paperback, US$7.00
Women on a Journey: Between Baghdad and London, Haifa Zangana (trans. Judy Cumberbatch) (2007) Austin, TX: University of Texas Press, xvi + 235 pp., ISBN: 029271484X, Paperback, US$16
The Librarian of Basra: A True Story from Iraq, Jeanette Winter, (2005) Orlando: Harcourt, Inc. 32 pp., Hardback, ISBN: 0152054456, US$16.00
Alia's Mission: Saving the Books of Iraq (Inspired by a True Story), Mark Alan Stamaty, (2004) New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 32 pp., Hardback, ISBN: 0375832173, US$12.95
-