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A poem by Liu Xiaobo, Nobel Laureate for Peace in 2010

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Liu_XiaoboThe writer that caused all the stir at the Nobel Prize for Peace ceremony in 2010 is Liu Xiaobo. As he is still in jail in China for political reasons, the presence of foreign ambassadors in Oslo for the ceremony became a problem of diplomatic offence for Chinese officials. It looks like it is for the first time from 1936 when the prize is not received by the laureate or by someone from his family. Last time the laureate was living in Germany in nazi regime. According to news reports, this time the Chinese authorities placed even the wife of Liu Xiaobo under house arrest.

The Chinese reaction was not so hard to guess: „What on earth has Liu Xiaobo ever contributed to human peace?”.

China’s propaganda apparatus first put the spotlight on Liu’s allegedly treasonous views in the aftermath of the Tiananmen crackdown. Liu was jailed for his role in the student protests – and targeted for vitriolic attack by the official media. Liu, said the People’s Daily at the time, is a „traitor from head to toe.” (washingtonpost)

How can look a poem by someone that is convicted 11 years for „inciting subversion of state power”?

Longing to Escape

for my wife
abandon the imagined martyrs
I long to lie at your feet, besides
being tied to death this is
my one duty
when the heart’s mirror-
clear, an enduring happiness

your toes will not break
a cat closes in behind
you, I want to shoo him away
as he turns his head, extends
a sharp claw toward me
deep within his blue eyes
there seems to be a prison
if I blindly step out
of with even the slightest
step I’d turn into a fish
8. 12. 1999

from Pen American Center

Liu Xiaobo is a political activist, university lecturer and author who has fought for a more democratic and open China for more than 20 years. His poetry collection was acquired by Graywolf editor Jeffrey Shotts Continuă lectura A poem by Liu Xiaobo, Nobel Laureate for Peace in 2010 →

english

Poetic caligraphy

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karalama3

The lines of calligraphers have neither beginning nor end as they constantly link and unlink. The calligrapher’s work lies in search of the absolute; his aim is to penetrate the sense of truth in an infinite movement so as to go beyond the existing world and thus achieve union with God.– Salah al-Ali (quotes in Musee d’art et d’histoire. „Islamic Calligraphy: Sacred and Secular Writings”. Catalog of an exhibition held at the Musee d’art et d’histoire, Geneva and other locations 1988-1989, p. 30)Calligraphers were dedicated to their work. David James writes in Sacred and Secular Writings (1988, p.22) that calligraphers often wrote, not at a small table but seated on the floor, holding the paper on their knees and supporting it with a piece of cardboard. Calligraphers had to be trained from a young age, sometimes from childhood; they studied examples called mufradat which had the letters of the alphabet written out singly and in combination with other letters.The great calligraphers could write perfectly even without the proper tools and materials. Although a calligraphic master might be deprived of the use of his preferred hand either as a punishment or in the battle field, he would learn to write equally well with his other hand. When the other hand failed him, he would astound his admirers by using his mouth or feet to hold the pen.An aspiring scribe would observe his predecessors’ art very carefully. To perfect his touch, sharpen his skills, and find a style of his preference, the scribe would imitate the masters of calligraphy with a diligent hand. Welch (1979, p. 34) cites the following quote from the Sultan Ali’s treatise on calligraphy:Collect the writing of the masters,Throw a glance at this and at that,For whomsoever you feel a natural attraction,Besides his writing, you must not look at others,So that your eye should become saturated with his writing,And because of his writing each of your letters shouldbecome like a pearl.de AICI

english, media

O conferinta cu poezie mistica si Rumi poetry :) (engl din pacate, dar luati ceva cald de baut si sit back)

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Daca tot ne pregatim de intalnirea cu Mihail Galatanu de la 5 in atelierelationale ma gandesc sa luam o portie de conferinta cu poezie mistica. Rumi e cel mai potrivit ca sa intram in atmosfera de ciocnire intre mistica si vulgaritate care i-a tot fost reprosata lui Galatanu. Altfel noi ne vedem la 5 la Dalles pentru ultima oara anul asta. Atelierele vor continua, cel mai probabil la libraria Diverta din Plaza.