This week’s author is one for poetry lovers. What is it about poetry that makes it magical? If you like poems, then you’ll know what I’m talking about. In poetry, meaning and feeling can be captured in a few words. Today, I’m joined by Hibah Shabkhez. I came across the poetry of Hibah Shabkhez by chance on a part of Goodreads which is frequented not by readers but by authors. Her poems are so enticing, polished and easy to read that they give the (surely false) impression they were easy to write. Rather, I think this tells us of the writer’s talent. Read on to find out more. Alack, The Ashen Waves of the Sea by Hibah Shabkhez ASIN B00W6GBHTE Book Description Alack, The Ashen Waves of the Sea is a book of quatrain poems that would have you sing softly of love and light and laughter, of truth and of daring, of knowledge and innocence and fantasy. With this silken string of quatrain-chaunts, let yourself soar feckless unto the sun, like Icarus, for the space of one glad smile. Ann Girdharry’s View I think that talking too much about poetry can spoil it. Poetry is such a personal experience and, when well done, can evoke surprising emotions, or memories, in the reader. I enjoyed this varied, short collection which, in my interpretation, included themes of love, loss, death, the existential, the beauty of nature. The book description above gives a glimpse of the treats instore. In each quatrain, I liked the way the author played with so few words to give such depth. The poems reflect the creativity, mastery of words and life view of the author. Photoshot of Hibah Shabkhez
Hibah is so eloquent - I really enjoyed her responses to Five Things You Didn’t Know about Hibah Shabkhez - 1. I like to think of myself more as a number of people operating under the alias ‘Hibah Shabkhez’ than as one person defined by the name. This deliberately Wemmick approach to identity does tend to make people believe I am a trifle bonkers, but then who wants to pretend to be sane anyway? 2. Languages fascinate me, especially the impact that sound and spelling have upon meaning. So I made language-teaching my ‘half-plate’ – my regular job – and I add to it a slice of every language I run across. For my diary, of course, I invented a multilingual secret alphabet all my own. 3. One of my selves is a Pakistani girl who dreams of adventures, of discovering brave new worlds and a million different ways of living. At present I am in Paris studying at a university right out of my storybooks, and daily I discover some fresh beauty in this land of strangers like me. As long as I live I pray that every day will bring me new wonders, one sleepy windswept park-square at a time. 4. Recipes and principles of good sense make standard cooking rather boring, but I do like crazy culinary experiments. So, every once in a while, I grab a bowl, beat up half a dozen eggs, and toss in a fistful each of all things vaguely edible around me, from chocolate-coated cereal to chunks of fish ... Try it out sometime. 5. According to the lore of my country, royal children in olden days learnt a craft as a sort of back-up plan against penury. As a writer in the ivory tower of legend, I chose book-binding to be my ‘royal skill’. It may not haul in the millions, but it certainly allows me to bind myself hundreds of books. Thanks for joining me today, Hibah, and having a ‘royal skill’ sounds like a great idea. You can check out more about Hibah Shabkhez here - https://www.facebook.com/hibahshabkhezsarusaihiryu/ and here http://languedouche.blogspot.fr. Next time, I’ll be joined by an author nominated for this year’s Goodreads Choice Award. His powerful book is based on the experiences of a Syrian in exile. Watch this space.
1 Comment
Hibah
12/8/2016 12:49:21 pm
The correct facebook link is:
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