1. [I Discovered That the Earth Was Fragile and the Sea Light]
Author(s): Mahmoud Darwish, Elias Sanbar, Simone Bitton, Pierre Joris
Reviewed work(s):
Source: boundary 2, Vol. 26, No. 1, 99 Poets/1999: An International Poetics Symposium
(Spring, 1999), pp. 81-83
Published by: Duke University Press
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/303855 .
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2. MahmoudDarwish81
words;anditdoesn'tseem necessaryto findsomethingintheworldthat
wouldexplainthem.
(TranslatedfromGermanbytheauthorandC.B.)
MahmoudDarwish
... Idiscovered that the earth was fragile and the sea light;Idiscovered
that languageand metaphorare notenoughto providea place forthe
place.Thegeographicalpartof Historyis strongerthanthe historicalpart
ofgeography.Unabletofindmyplaceon earth,ItriedtofinditinHistory.
AndHistorycannotbe reducedto a compensationfora lostgeography.It
is also a pointfromwhichtoobservetheshadowsofselfandother,grasp-
ableina morecomplexhumanjourneying.Historyawokea sense of irony
inme.Thislightenstheweightofthe nationalistworrysomewhat.Andso
one sets outon an absurdjourney.Isthatjustartisticcunning,a simple
borrowing?Oris it,tothecontrary,despairincarnatingitself?Theanswer
has no importancewhatsoever.Whatmattersis thatIwas ableto finda
greaterlyricalcapacity,anda passage fromtherelativetotheabsolute.An
openingallowingme to inscribethe nationalon the universal,so that
Palestinenot limititselfto Palestine,butthatit mayfoundits aesthetic
legitimacyina vasterhumanspace.
Ibelievethatitis notonlyPalestinethatis a poeticalibi.Everysubjectis
an alibi.Whichbringsus backto the fundamentalquestion:wheredoes
poetrylive?Inthe subjectitaddressesorinitsaestheticindependencein
relationto itssubject?Ibelievethatthethemeof Palestine,whichis simul-
taneouslya callforanda promiseoffreedom,riskstransformingitselfinto
a poeticcemeteryifitremainslockedinsideitstextuality,insidethe limits
thatarethe "self"andthe "Other,"insidedelimitedspace andthe historical
moment.Inotherwords,ifthepoeticprojectdoes notcontainitsownaspi-
rations,itsownproperobject,which,whenallis saidanddone, is butthe
accomplishmentof poetryitself.Thus my postulatethatevery subject,
even thatofa sanctifiedPalestine,isfinallyanalibi.
Itis uptothe poetto producea personalaesthetic.Ifthisaesthetic
is openenough,itwillset a horizonforthehomeland;ifitistoonarrow,the
homelandwillfeelconstrainedinit.Ahomelandcannotbe reducedtowhat

3. 82 boundary2/ Spring1999
itis objectively.Because poetryopens the homelandontothe humaninfi-
nite,on conditionthatthe poetbe abletotakeitthere.Inorderto achieve
this,the poet has to createhisownmyths.Bythis Idon'tmeanthe myth
proceedingfromanother,alreadyknownone, butthe one bornof the
poem'sconstruction,partakingof itsownformanduniverse.Theone that
transformsconcretelanguageintothe languageofpoetry.
Withthedisappearanceofourcountrywe suddenlyfoundourselvesrele-
gatedto a pre-Genesis.Andso ourpoetshavehadtowriteourownGene-
sis startingfromthe mythicone ofthe Other.Forone hasto be awarethat
Palestinehas alreadybeen written.TheOtherhas done itinhis manner,
throughthenarrativeofa birthwhichnoonedreamsofdenying.ACreation
narrativethathas becomeone ofthesourcesofknowledgeforhumankind:
the Bible.Giventhis,howcouldwe havewrittena less mythicnarrative?
Theproblemof Palestinianpoetryis thatitset outwithoutextraresources,
withouthistorians,withoutanthropologists;itthereforehadto equipitself
withallthenecessarybaggageneededtodefenditsrighttoexist.
Thisforcesthe Palestiniantotraversethe mythinorderto arriveat
thefamiliar.Iama poetandIambeforeallthe poetofthefamiliarhuman
details.ButIhaveneverstoppedarguingwiththeconsecratedversionof
Creation.Anargumentthathasforcedme intoa mythicwritingofthequo-
tidianreal,of the Palestinianpresent.Itis a cycle thatmoves fromordi-
narydailinessto the mythical,andwhichcan be accomplishedonlybya
returnto itsorigins.Evenwhen Ireferdirectlyto the myth,myobsession
is towritethatwhichis simple,familiar,banal.Iamtryingto humanizethe
Palestiniantext.Mythis notalwaystheenemyofman.Notalways.Hereit
is butone aspect of the culturalstruggleto writethe same place. We
Palestinianpoets writeinclose proximitytothe BookofGenesis. Inhail-
ingdistanceofa finished,definitive,andconsecratedmyth.Maybewe will
findourway inan aestheticof the quotidian,inthe mostsimplehuman
questionings.Thisdoes notseem likea contradictionto me. Ourlyricism
can moveinthespace ofmyth,even inthatoftheepic.Todaywe findour-
selves ina hybridplace,at a medianpointbetweenthe historicalandthe
mythic.Oursituation,ourveryexistencepartakesof both.

4. HaroldodeCampos83
Mylastfourbooksof poems are partof an ambitiousprojectIhope I'm
abletocomplete.It'sthe projectofa lyricalepic,ofthe liberationofpoetic
languagetowardepic horizons.Historywouldserve as a scene through
whichpeoples,civilizations,andculturescouldcirculatefreely.Iamon a
questformyidentityaccordingto the lawsofcrossbreeding,oftheshock
andcohabitationofallidentities.Iwantthishymntotakerootintheopen
space ofhistory.Idon'tknowwherethisquestwillleadme,butIknowthat
its originis the multiplicityof culturalorigins.Insuch a project,poetry
comes upagainstculturalracismandrejectsanyculturebasedonpurityof
blood.Aren'twe the childrenof a regionthatfromtimeimmemorialhas
beenthetheatreofinteractions,bothpositiveandnegative?
I have found a terrafirmasaturatedwith history.I draw my
strengthfromitbecause Ilookthroughtheprismsofpastandfuture.Thus
the presentappearsless fragile,morelikea passage towarda morecer-
tainhistory.Standingonsaidearth,whenIobservesomethingtragicIalso
see itstemporaryaspect, forhumanbeingsarefinallythe productofthis
tragedycrisscrossedwithabsurdities.
Rome,depiteallits brutalattributes,willnotdominatethe earth
again.Iamone ofthe inhabitantsofthe suburbsof Rome;itis withirony
thatIwatchtheemperorpass by-and continuemystory.
(OriginaltranslationfromArabicandHebrewbyEliasSanbarandSimone
Bitton;adaptedandtranslatedfromFrenchbyPierreJoris)
Haroldode Campos
The BrazilianJaguar
ThecouchedBrazilianJaguar
-T. S. Eliot
Brazilianpoetry,likesome mythologicalheroes, neverhada trueinfancy
(infant,one thatcannotspeak). Itwas bornalreadyadult,operating(flu-
entlyspeaking)a universalcode: the Baroque,a verysophisticatedand
elaboratelanguage.Ourfirstgreatpoets wereBaroqueandmultilingual:
Gregoriodo MattosGuerra(1636-1696), a virulentsatiristnicknamed
"TheMouthof Hell,"butalso a giftedlyricist,wrotein Portugueseand
Spanish,includinginsome ofhispoemsAfricanandIndianwords.Botelho