Jabra Ibrahim Jabra , Als een poolwinter...

Dichter

: Jabra Ibrahim Jabra, Palestina, 1920 - 1994
Gedicht

: Als een poolwinter...
Locatie

: Berlagestraat 13a, Leiden
Sinds

: 1995 (nummer 30)

Als een poolwinter . . .

Als een poolwinter zijn onze dagen:
Uren van vreugde zijn vluchtig als licht,
Ongeluk houdt, als de nacht, niet op.
Verlichting gloort op tijden die o zo snel verdwenen zijn,
Somber duister heerst in elk seizoen.

Op dagen van gewicht als lood zo zwaar
Ontvlamt soms als een bliksemschicht een liefde
Van ongrijpbare logica,
Barst soms een dichtwerk los, als vlammen
In stro waarin de bliksem ingeslagen is:
In deze as, hooghartig, wijdverspreid,
Hoe overleefden daar deze brandende woorden?

(Vert. W. Stoetzer)

Jabra Ibrahim Jabra

Jabra was born in Bethlehem in 1920. He finished his high school education in Jerusalem before going to Cambridge University. After his return to Jerusalem, he taught art at Al-Rashidiyyeh School and founded the Art Club in Jerusalem. In 1948, he fled to Baghdad. He was awarded a fellowship to Harvard University in 1952. Upon his return, he founded the Baghdad Group for Contemporary Art and held the post of editor in chief of the Arab Art Magazine and was the President of the Association of Art Critics in Iraq.
In 1983, he was awarded the Taraga Europa prize for culture by Inter Art Forum in Rome and received numerous other awards for his work and achievements. Jabra was not only known as a painter, but as an acclaimed novelist, poet and critic. His publications include seven novels, an autobiography, three collections of poetry , and eight collections of essays. Jabra died in Iraq at the age of 74.

(Source: Forgotten Scene: Pioneer Artists from Palestine).

Celebration in Bethlehem for Jabra Ibrahim Jabra

Conference on the renowned Bethlehemite intellectual and literary figure Jabra Ibrahim Jabra.

Conference on the renowned Bethlehemite intellectual and literary figure Jabra Ibrahim Jabra.
Bethlehem University hosted a conference on the renowned Bethlehemite intellectual and literary figure Jabra Ibrahim Jabra (1920 - 1994) between August 28 and 29, 2004. Jabra was a novelist, poet, short story writer, painter, literary and art critic and translator.

Eighteen specialists from the West Bank gave presentations on Jabra’s works. His excellency Yahia Yakhlef, the Minister of Culture, delivered the conference keynote speech. Br. Vincent Malham (BU President-Vice Chancellor) and Mr. Hanna Naser (Mayor of Bethlehem) welcomed the participants and Dr. Aziz Khalil, the Conference Coordinator, talked about the work done by the Organizing Committee (Br. Cyril, Dr. Jeanne Kattan, Mrs. Tania Tamari Naser and Dr. Aziz Khalil). The opening session was attended by 102 participants. On Sunday morning, Mr. Hanna Naser named a street after Jabra near one of the houses in which Jabra lived and Mr. Majdi Shomali conducted a tour for the participants, which covered the places mentioned by Jabra in his biographical novel The First Well. The papers presented will be published in proceedings of the conference. The conference was funded by the Prince Claus Fund for Culture and Development, the Palestinian Ministry of Culture and the Shoman Foundation in Jordan.

(Aziz Khalil op de website van Jerusalem I love you op zondag 12 september 2004)

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