The Writer’s Block: A Video Q&A With Mazen Maarouf | Sampsonia Way Magazine

“Mazen Maarouf is a Palestinian poet and writer who was raised in Lebanon. He currently lives in exile in Iceland and has been lauded as a “rising international literary star,” after the publication of three books of poetry: The Camera Doesn’t Capture Birds, Our Grief Resembles Bread, and most recently An Angel Suspended on the Clothesline. Maarouf came to City of Asylum Pittsburgh in April, 2014 and translations of his poems were read by his translator, the poet Nathalie Handal. In this interview Maarouf discusses why he doesn’t write political poetry, the complications of translating his poems, and the process of writing for as large an audience as possible.”

via The Writer’s Block: A Video Q&A With Mazen Maarouf | Sampsonia Way Magazine.

Literature and Exile

(Roberto Bolaño)

“I’ve been invited to talk about exile. The invitation I received was in English, and I don’t speak English. There was a time when I did or thought I did, or at least there was a time, in my adolescence, when I thought I could read English almost as well, or as poorly, as Spanish. Sadly, that time has passed. I can’t read English. By what I could gather from the letter, I think I was supposed to talk about exile. Literature and exile. But it’s very possible that I’m completely mistaken, which, thinking about it, would actually be an advantage, since I don’t believe in exile, especially not when the word sits next to the word ‘literature.'”

via Literature and Exile | The Nation.