Wednesday, February 17, 2010

As'ad Abu Khalil's "The Dangerous Man" Part 2 (The Return of The Dangerous Man) translated

""Return of the Dangerous Man: Expedition of History"

The story of the Dangerous Man is not over, and will never be. It is at the heart of the story of the history of Lebanon and the Arab East. That story might be fictitious, but fiction agrees with reality in more than one station. Then, what if the events and people are figments of imagination? Would that discount their true nature? Who knows? The characters of the novel might be of flesh and blood.

What to tell you about a man who emerged from the womb of his mother carrying a newspaper, what to say? What to tell you about a man who threw a stone at an Israeli patrol while he was still crawling on his hands and knees? A man who shouted revolutionary slogans before learning the alphabet and before uttering his first word in front of his parents? What to tell you about a man who drew a map of Palestine with chalk at the age of four? What to tell you about a man who never came across a Lebanese flag without uprooting the cedar out of it? What to tell you about a man who’d go to bed to the sound of a moaning flute whenever Israel kills an Arab? What to tell you about a man who was killed three times but did not die? Three times, believe me. What to tell you about a man who traced the footsteps of «Ayman» in the land of the south after he read Shawki Bzei’s poem about him? About a man who left meteors of revolution and rejection anywhere he went? About a man who tamed the history with his two arms? What do I say?"

4 comments:

  1. <span>L'homme <span>dangereuse</span></span>

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  2. <span><span>L'homme <span>dangereuse</span></span></span>
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    Yes Mara but that's the feminin form.  'dangereux' is the masculin form. In any case, glad to see you back...I just  checked your article on the Daily Kos about Rush Limbaugh being kicked out of a Puerto Rican radio. I94 comments!! Impressive.

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  3. The writing style reminds me of Thomas Wolfe. Just a bit over the top.

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  4. We all need the dangerous man within

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