Introduction To

Introduction To
Songs and Elegies followed by
Cities ofAsh Poetry of Abdurrahman Bou Ali

Translated byJaouad Radouani

This translation is an attempt. It is a modest attempt to translate Dr. Abderahman Bou Ali’s verse from Ara bic to English. As eveybodj knows, it is really impossible to translate the exact thoughts of this talented poet, jet I ty and endeavor to find simple words and structures in English that could honest’y refiect, even with relative exactitude, the meanings of unes of verse, which the realpoet wrote in orzginal Arabic.
Not being a poet, but an amateur transiator, I superficially translate the linguistic form and the suiface meaning of each text. Henceforth, this translation could be considered a mere linguistic transformation of texts written in Arabic into texts written in English. Not willing to contribute to meaning translation deep/y, I satisfy mjself with a verbatim-like translation that targets mords and structures rather than meaning and ideolqgy. For such reason, I would like to caution the reader of this translation to, when reading the texts, not look for what the transiator said but dive in the text and search for what the real author could have meant when his muse was at work inspiring him.
0f course the poet is the only one who could better explain his work. But, the text is open to evey reading and explanation. Henceforth, it is advisable to those who read this translation to remember that the English version of Dr. Bou Ali’s poems is a mere image of the orzginal Arabic version, which is written in pefect, expressive and ealous language.
Translations are never perfect, hence this attempt may have betrayed the real text in many occasions. But still, this translation couidgive more than it takes. Besides, thefollowing translation would fulfihi what it aspires to if, and only if, the reader of the texts reads them with the intention to complete missing images, repair distortions and contribute through his own experience of lif to the making ofa full text. I should add that, on’y then one could discover what a poet such Dr. Bou Ali could tel at a moment of transcendentalism.
Dr. Bou A1i, as the reader wihl discover, writes about the nation, identiy, pohitics, poety, the colonier, the colonied, the dead, the future, life, fear, freedom, destinj, etc. His poetic spirit is free; he roamsfields of dfferent disczbhines contemplating life and refiecting upon various themes. His chosen topics are not consistent, but rich and dfferent. The banguage he writes with is vey abridged; it sums up whobe b/ experiences into metaphoric bines that are condensed with meaning.
The hast word. When reading Bou A1i, the quabiy of the text acts its impact on the reader. Simpbiciy of bothform and content take him deep into the vivid images that are borrowedfrom daily life; and because of the multidimensionabiy of each text, one woubd neyer tire of reading and re-reading Bou Ali’s golden bines of verse, which sparkbe of wisdom and truc experience of life. I speak here of an experience I mjsehf have gone through.

Jaouad Radouani Oujda: 26-06-2006