Homs-Sana
The poet Adel Nassif drew from the wellspring of Arabic poetry, and he drew the sweetness of his words from the nectar of the flowers of his mountain village asleep in the bosom of the picturesque nature.
From his village of al-Kimah in Wadi al-Nadara, west of Homs, his poetic star shone from an early age, despite his superiority in the secondary school certificate in the scientific branch in the sixties of the last century, and his attainment of degrees that qualified him to study any branch he wanted. However, he chose Arabic literature, which he loved his poetry and poets, and it resulted in studying and teaching the Arabic language.
And about his beginnings in writing, Nassif indicated in his interview with a SANA reporter that he founded with a group of his companions a literary, social and cultural magazine entitled (Sada al-Khabour), headed by the journalist Yaqoub Shalami, and worked as an editor in the magazine (Al-Fursan), and director of the magazine (Al-Moallem Al-Arabi), until his appointment came. First specialist instructor of the Arabic language at the Directorate of Education in Damascus for several years. The Ministry of Education commissioned him with a committee to compose Arabic language books for the preparatory and secondary stages. He represents this ministry in a number of student and educational conferences in a number of Arab and foreign countries, and he participates in the preparation of educational curricula in my country. UAE and Bahrain.
And with that round between education and journalism, poetry remained an obsession and constant for the poet Nassif, who referred to his permanent presence on every national occasion to recite his poems that he used to publish in newspapers, magazines and periodicals, with the aim of collecting them in a large collection, to be consumed by fire in his house in Damascus before he could print it, to try After that, he memorized some of his poems and printed them in his last collection (Fragrance of Jasmine) with the efforts of Professor of Arabic Literature at Al-Baath University, Dr. Jawdat Ibrahim.
And about his poetic experience, Nassif, an expatriate ten years ago in the United States of America, believes that the true poet does not need an inspiration. His emotions, and the development of his poetic talent, in addition to being influenced by the great poets of the Abbasid era, such as Al-Mutanabbi, Al-Buhtri, and Abi Tammam, and poets of the twentieth century such as Muhammad Mahdi Al-Jawahiri, Al-Akhtal Al-Saghir and Al-Qarawi.
And about whether his poetry was affected by the events in our country, Nassif explained that as a poet he resorts to the poem when he interacts and gets excited about what is happening around him in terms of events that may be painful, sad or joyful, using the classical Arabic language that is prepared by the column that carries the poem to the people in its beautiful form, and he says expressive On his fondness for the poem:
What is poetry? I have words written on paper
No letters sister and literature ended
Poetry is a heartbeat that oozes emotion
And a splash from the core of the heart leaks out
Nassif does not find a difference between ancient and modern poetry, and what is important in them is that the poem draws us in and gets excited by it and its easy style, sound language and clear vocabulary, expressing his lack of advocacy for dividing poetry and mixing it with prose, because the prose poem is an art in itself, and some prose texts may surpass poetry in its beauty, but it is not permissible Confuse them.
He believes that the poet needs a sound language and a wide linguistic repertoire, because the language is the pillar of the poem, and if the pillar is bent, the poem falls and dies, and in order for the poet to be able to express people’s pain and touch their pain, he needs freedom of expression and daring in presenting his topics so as not to exceed the limits of the ordinary and deviate from logic. Expressing his fear for the Arabic language from being lost in the era of social networking pages that promote colloquial dialects and foreign languages, defending the classical language by saying:
I appeal to you, my people, wake up
This age calls for attention
In my language are bright beacons
And those without insight do not see it
And about his experience as a poet residing in the countries of exile, Nassif expressed his love for Syria, which did not leave him and did not lose sight of him in all the details of his life until his adoration for her became an eternal love, and this love was evident in his poems that came between the covers of his collection (Fragrance of Jasmine).
Hanan Sweed
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