Culture – In honor of the poet Saqr Alishi, who was selected as a famous Arab poet by the Arab Education and Culture Organization on the occasion of the 10th Arab Poetry Day in 2024, the Syrian General Directorate of Books and Sciences (ALECSO) affiliated to the Arab League has printed a two-volume collection of his complete works.
The two volumes average 673 pages and include poems from the collection: “Poems Looking Down on the Plains,” “The Secret,” “A Little Emotion,” “The Height of Nostalgia,” “Cluster of Wisdom,” “Ghazal,” “The Meaning of the Mountains,” “High Poems,” “The Book of a Glance,” and “Daffodils.”
Dr. Saad al-Din al-Kulaib wrote in the preface to the poetic works: The reader of Saqr Al-Alishi will not have difficulty discerning the uniqueness of his aesthetic form in these complete poetic works, whether in the text of a ta’feel poem, a prose poem or a two-part poem. Whether it is a poem or a long poem, whether it is a text of social memory, a text of emotion or a text of social reflection, regardless of the differences in style and vision, there is a clear aesthetic form.
He added: “Saqr al-Arish’s poetry has no tendency towards extravagance, complexity, formal elegance, spirituality, Westernness, otherworldly imagery, or profound thoughts and ideas. There is a simple, fluent lyric form, and also simple, fluent content, but also a spiritual and human depth.”
Kleib explains that the poet Saqr al-Arish does not ask the reader to make too much effort, nor does he ask him to slow down, examine and review his understanding and interpretation, he presents a poetic painting characterized by simplicity in natural scenes. There is spontaneity in his aesthetic reception, describing his paintings as natural, which does not require special contemplation, but listening, images and emotions flow equally into the senses and conscience, because nature, especially the mountainous countryside, is one of the basic essences, but what they mean here is that the simplicity of the natural landscape and the spontaneity of aesthetic reception are what the poet seeks.
