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| Liz Lochhead |
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| Maya Abu al-Hayyat |
Maya Abu
al-Hayyat, who is from Palestine
and only got her visa to come to the festival a few days before the event, is
an engineer, novelist and poet. There was the shared joy for the writers to be
sharing such a cross border event, exchanging ideas and appreciating our
similarities. Lochhead enjoyment of Maya’s reading of her poems in Arabic was
obvious.
After an
introduction from Liz on how the project came about and of their trip to the camps
and crowded place that is present day Bethlehem,
we were given three very eloquent readings first in English by Lochhead, then
in lyrical Shetlander from Christina followed by Maya’s emotive readings. It
was interesting the different rhythms and feel of the readings and the depth
and beauty of the Arabic voice.
With the
Shetlander voice, Christina said she wished to get the right tone and
earthiness.
The poems
were chosen by the Palestinian poets and then translated by 29 of top Scottish
poets( )
The book
contains a foreword by Lochhead on their experiences. She spoke of the lack of
water for several days and how everyone wanted to reassure them that they were
not terrorists. She said, what else but poetry has the beauty and truth to try
to cross boundaries. The last poem was about the many ways to smile.
A Bird Is
Not A Stone is taken from George Wiley’s words of the birds that flew over the
Berlin Wall. This event about a project begun in 2012 is very timely with all
the dreadful killings of present day Gaza
Art and
poetry voices may try to carry the silent voices across the world of the
ordinary people’s lives and of the mothers who wish to watch their children
grow up in a world that is not torn in two.
They thought
a Scottish poem we might share would be A Man’s a Man For A That. A thoroughly
enjoyable book festival event.
