#Qahar Aasi

[honeyandelixir]

بار دگر بُکُش که پس از کشتن هزار در من هنوز حوصله انتقام هست

Kill me once again, for after a thousand deaths

I still hold the patience to bear vengeance

#Dari #Qahar Aasi #lit #Afghan #<3

[ombre-ame]

هزار بار ديگرم سر شكوفه كردن است

I have yet to bloom a thousand times more…

Qahar Aasi

@ombre-ame

April 15 /24

[ab-initioo]

- qahar aasi

#dark academia #chaotic academia #dark romanticism #chaotic academic aesthetic #romantic aesthetic #romanticism #dark acadamia aesthetic #dark academia books #light academia #dead poets society #poetsofig #poetic #arabic poetry #poetry #arabic literature #classic literature #english literature #oscarwilde #virginiawoolf #sylvia plath #mahmoud darwish #nizar qabbani

[aftaabmagazine]

Conversation with Menosh Zalmai on her book Ode to Qahar Aasi

Conversation with Menosh Zalmai on her book Ode to Qahar Aasi

By Farhad Azad 

Aftaab Magazine 

In her forward to Ode to Qahar Aasi, a collection of translated poems, Menosh Zalmai writes, "Aasi's poems give me a sense of belonging and connection to the land and people; we were made to leave but never forget." 

Published in 2018, the book is a collection of Qahar Asi's unique poems, spanning his early works to his later period. It is available for purchase online.

The first translated poem is "And..." (و...), the ending poem in Asi's last book while he was alive, From the Island of Blood: Elegies for Kabul (1993, Association of Writers Press, Kabul). 

The poem speeaks of grieving soul that seeks consolement. The poet asks the little cuckoo bird nested by his home to open its wings and fly because his heart is sorrowful, the breeze to stir because he is breathless, the tree to comfort him because he is restless, and the spring to arrive and sing because he is impatient. 

All of that, while the city he loved so dearly is under a rain of death by rockets and bullets. These effusive verses voice the grief of many generations cast by half a century of conflict and tyranny. 

Intrigued by her collection of translated poems, I asked Menosh Zalmai to share her thoughts about her book—she did so generously. 

She commented on the subject of her favorite poem, "This is a rather difficult question for me because I truly love Qahar Aasi's poems. From his ghazals [odes] to his char-baitis [quatrain]. 

One of my all time favorites is his ghazal اگر مي‌شد كه دردم را برايت گريه مي‌كردم [Where it possible to speak of my pain to you]. Mainly because it highlights our human limitations of expression. 

Language falls short in conveying the range of emotions we feel as human beings and in this poem, he so beautifully laments that. If I could, I would...I wish I could. I believe this is a universal feeling. I admire the nuance with which he weaves this poem."

Zalmai acknowledged the lack of translated works in English by contemporary Farsi writers, "I think it's another impact of war and displacement on us. Losing social capital and language is one of the more devastating effects of war, poverty, invasions, and exile. It is hard to write and publish when your first priority is to put food on your table. It is also difficult to learn the language and immerse yourself in it, when you are displaced as a diaspora and have unintentionally lost touch with cultural nuances. It is unfortunate and something that deeply pains me."

Readers have responded enthusiastically to the book and its translation. 

 "The reception has been heartwarming and I am grateful. I love that despite barriers, diaspora youth and folks want to stay connected with their language, culture and roots. Goes to show that no matter how much they try to destroy us, we will always find a way to survive."

This work is a delightful rarity, a gift for anyone interested in contemporary Farsi poetry written by one of the most important poets of the end of the last century. Despite the uncertainty and war of the time, the poet expressed love and perseverance with unequivocal conviction.

One of my favorite translated lines from the book is filled with notes of unbounded romance vestiges of green valleys and the beauty of spring with a loved one:

آرامش باغ گل به گیسو زدنت آشـــوب بهار شــانه بر مــو زدنت برنامه زنده گی سخن های خوشت سر نامه عشق خـــم بــه ابرو زدنت

Serenity in a meadow; you pinning flowers to your hair 

Chaos in spring: You putting a comb through your hair 

Life's proposition: Your exquisite words 

Love's caption: The arch of your eyebrows 

It would be wonderful if Menosh Zalmai could publish another translated collection of Asi's poems—as it would be a valuable contribution to the world of literature.

Purchase the book on Amazon

#QaharAsi #Kabulistan #Kabul #WorldLiteratrue #Poetry #Farsi

[cobotis]

Free love? As if love is anything but free! 

Man has bought brains, but all the millions in the world have failed to buy love. Man has subdued bodies, but all the power on earth has been unable to subdue love. Man has conquered whole nations, but all his armies could not conquer love. Man has chained and fettered the spirit, but he has been utterly helpless before love. High on a throne, with all the splendor and pomp his gold can command, man is yet poor and desolate, if love passes him by. And if it stays, the poorest hovel is radiant with warmth, with life and color. Thus love has the magic power to make of a beggar a king. Yes, love is free; it can dwell in no other atmosphere... ~ Emma Goldman

#Emma Goldman #qahar aasi #love #agapelove #dear heart #awareness is love

[dk-thrive]

I have yet to bloom a thousand times more…"

Qahar Aasi

#alive #life #gratitude #bloom #happy #bliss #Qahar Aasi

[youngmindancientheart]

Let us chase lovely horizons Let us make this dusk our own.

Qahar Aasi

#qahar aasi #poem #poetry #quote #quotes

[maiwandmomen]

من ثابت کردن خود را یاد ندارم، کشف ام کنید.

#maiwandmomen #kabul #afghanistan #farsi #qahar aasi #سخن بزرگان #سخنان ماندگار #سخنان ناب #اشعار #میوندمؤمن

[bakaity-poetry]

Ode to Qahar Aasi ~ Menosh ZA https://www.amazon.com/Ode-Qahar-Aasi-Menosh-ZA/dp/1976968844

#qahar aasi #menosh #translation #poem #kavita #dari #afganistan #honey and elixir

[journalofanobody]

از عشق هر آنچه مانده در خاطر من بوي گل سنجد است و رنگ گل نار

The remnants of love in my memory: Scent of berry blossoms & the color of pomegranate

— Qahar Aasi

(Image: Asuka Hihisiki, Pomegranate  (c. 2010)

#Asuka Hihisiki #Qahar Aasi #pomegranate

[honeyandelixir]

کس نیست تا ز باغ برون آرَد منظومه‌ هایِ روشنِ‌دریا را

No one is left to carry out

From the garden

The river’s flowy, lucent poems

#poetry #literature #Qahar Aasi #Dari #afghanistan #<3 #heart

[tanyushenka]

“ Come my heart for the sake of love,  For the sake of closeness of dawn  Let us chase lovely horizons  Let us make this dusk our own “

—  Qahar Aasi  (via honeyandelixir) Photography by me Sunset, Key Largo, Florida

#my photos #poetry #sunset #Florida #Qahar Aasi

[wardahasan]

I wrote sad stories,

I wrote about an awful explosion and bomb,

I wrote for the massacre of Kabul city

I picked up a pen,

I wrote sadness

نوشتم قصه های غم نوشتم

بلای انفجار و بم نوشتم

برای قتل عام شهر کابل

قلم برداشتم ماتم نوشتم

-Qahar Aasi

#afghanistan

[lilyserpent]

The remnants of love in my memory: Scent of berry blossoms and the color of pomegranate

#qahar aasi

[usmaankarim]

“آرامش و شکوه کوهستان را برای تو میخواهم I want the splendor and the solace of mountains for you” — Qahar Aasi #mountains #acrophile #qaharasi #nostalgia #northernareasofpakistan #pakistan (at Passu Cones) https://www.instagram.com/p/CLpCjaeH9lkDpV0Uc2DZ-UxYVuKycsuUg1VHXc0/?igshid=7vmeih93zskg

#mountains #acrophile #qaharasi #nostalgia #northernareasofpakistan #pakistan

[luna-toska]

Got this jewel today and I’m beyond excited! Thank you dear @honeyandelixir so much for sharing such beautiful words with us. It means a lot, especially for those of us who don’t understand the language but are deeply appreciative of middle eastern poetry and literature!

Ode to Qahar Aasi

#Afghan lit #Afghan poetry #honeyandexilir #books #amazon #poetry #middle eastern poetry #middle eastern lit