Second Heaven: Anthology of Dutch 19th century poetry

The Netherlands Institute in Morocco (NIMAR) and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Morocco cordially invite you to a captivating event featuring Dutch Poet Mohammad Al Amin. He will unveil his translation project ‘Tweede Hemel - Bloemlezing van de poëzie van de 19e eeuw’, which presents notable Dutch poems from the 19th century rendered into Arabic, in collaboration with Letterenfonds. The event will take place on Thursday, May 16 at 5:30 PM at the NIMAR Booth (SIEL).

Synopsis

This interesting event has the goal to unveil a translation endeavor: Dutch poetry from the 19th century transformed into Arabic, in partnership with Letterenfonds. It strives to underscore the rich cultural interchange between Arab and Dutch poets spanning decades, enhancing accessibility to Dutch literature for Arabic audiences. This initiative aims to introduce prominent voices from the Dutch poetry landscape, pivotal in shaping modern Dutch verse. Over the ensuing three decades, the Netherlands has been a hub for poetry festivals uniting Arab and Dutch poets, like the Rotterdam International Poetry Festival, the Dutch-Arab Poetry Festival in 2002, and the Mesopotamia Festival. Shedding light on this enduring exchange, a presentation of the book alongside a poetry recital aims to bridge Arabic speakers closer to Dutch literary expressions.

Speaker Mohammad Al Amin

Mohamed El Amin an Iraqi poet and translator residing in the Netherlands. He has worked in literary journalism since the early 1990s, and contributed to issuing a number of cultural magazines such as “Al-Hamshiyoun” and “Shiraz.” He also supervised the Arabic section of the Dutch “zoomin.tv” channel. In cooperation with Rashid Wahiti, he published the complete poetic works of Iranian film director Abbas Kiarostami, under the title: “A Night Studded with Lightnings” (2021). Among his translations from Dutch are: “Graceful Poems Like Trees” (2023), a poetry anthology by Liane Arends, and “A Second Sky: An Anthology of Dutch Poetry in the Nineteenth Century” (2023), in collaboration with Asaad Jaber and Shalan Sharif. His poetry: “The Exile of Voltaire” (2019).

Moderator Soukaina Habiballah

Soukaina Habiballah (1989) was born in Casablanca. She is the author of the poetry collections A Quarter Century of Sight (2014) and There’s No Need for You (2015). Her first novel, The Barracks, is forthcoming. She has received several awards and grants for her work, including the 2015 Buland Al Haidari Prize for young Arab poets, and her poems have been translated into French, English, German, and Spanish.