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“La poésie est invincible” by Abdellatif Laabi is one of the best books to immerse yourself in the poetry of this great Moroccan poet, capable of communicating the world through himself
La poésie est invincible
La poésie est invincible is a poetic collection in which the importance of poetry as a means of analyzing reality and as an instrument of struggle is proclaimed. Abdellatif Laâbi, one of the most important figures of the Arabic and Francophone literary landscape, combines anecdotes and fragments of personal thoughts through a writing imbued with humanity, which reaffirms the need to fight to obtain justice, equality and freedom. Preface by Jacques Alexandra, introduction to the Italian edition by Giuseppe Sofo.
Poetry that can be felt
“La poésie est invincible” is a collection of poems that is divided into 7 different micro-works, each with its own theme and peculiarities, but all with the poet’s biography at the centre. Abdellatif Laabi, in fact, puts his story at the center of his poetry, continuously and constantly exploiting it to better understand himself and those who are different, an element that can be seen very well in “La poésie est invincible”. It is poetry that you can feel, that at times you can touch, thus trying to immerse yourself in the very soul of the great Moroccan poet.
The themes, as I said, vary from work to work, bringing reflections on life and the world, such as “Freedom meant” or “Two languages”, contained in “Awakening”, moments of sincerity with acid features, as in ” The insolence of old age”, to heights of mysticism that goes beyond the world and faith, like those present in “Robayat”. The book then ends with “La poésie est invincible”, a title which in the original version is also that of the collection of poems itself (in Italian the title is “Di tutte le lotte” that in English it means “Of all the struggles”) and which represents a true hymn to poetry itself , something that is present within each of us and that no one, not even death and injustice, will ever be able to defeat.
Se siete alla ricerca di un nuovo grande poeta poco conosciuto in Italia ma dal valore assoluto, in grado di comunicare il mondo attraverso sé stesso, dovete assolutamente leggere “La poésie est invincible” di Abdellatif Laabi; grazie all’ampia sezione biografica, inoltre, avrete anche un’idea più chiara non solo della sua vita, ma anche delle vicissitudini della cultura durante gli anni di piombo marocchini, pezzo di storia assolutamente imprescindibile per comprendere il paese, spesso e volentieri dimenticato.
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Freedom meant
Let’s remember freedom
when it had the same meaning
for everyone
wherever we were
and just hearing its name
our hearts capitulated
(as they so nicely say
our Antillean writer friends)
our eyes were opened
wide open
like those of a child
at the sight of an unexpected gift
Freedom meant
ask for the moon
and hold out your hand with trust
to catch it
learn the most common words
of at least twenty languages
give and demonstrate again
that nothing that is human
it was a stranger to us
Let’s remember freedom
when it made us shine
of eternal youth
that is in us
when it whispered to us
the great passions
that they would have thrown us into the embers
of all battles
when it dropped on us
the lightning of love
that would have turned our lives upside down
Freedom meant
only one thing
as true as the earth
on which we walk
and to the sky
that rises above our heads
as true as
the blood
that runs through our veins
Freedom
it was our irrecusable
identity
