"له‌ دیوانی ''ئه‌ی به‌نده‌ری دۆست، ئه‌ی كه‌شتی دوژمن

Bachtyar Ali’s poems experiment with the interaction between free verse and prose poetry, which grants them much potential in terms of expression, association, and voice. In the two poems published here, which are from the collection Friendly Harbor, Hostile Ship (2009), we hear the voice of the poet taking us on a journey. This voice subtly engages us in conversation even as it moves about, free and unfettered.

What drives these poems forward is their quest for discovery and understanding, for elaboration through imagery and creation through words. The poems are a place of gathering where we are all invited, where the ephemeral and the eternal meet. The fleeting and the everlasting complete each other; both are embraced and cherished. One cannot help but notice how the process of questioning is central to the poems, which results in their freshness.

One of the greatest challenges in translating these poems was the element of magical realism that manifests itself here and there. Ali’s use of the poetic line leads to the creation of what might be called parallel realities. These are not disorienting realities; in fact, they lighten up the murkier areas of our largely unnoticed daily reality. These translations do not claim to be perfect or absolutely faithful. But they have passed through many readings and reworkings by the translator, by colleagues, and by editors. In that sense, the poems have been rewritten in English, and it is good to see their progression reach a place of maturity.