Correspondence & News

Al-Motamid Correspondence

Al-Motamid 25, Larache 1953. Source Spanish National Library.

Nablus, 14 April 1951.

To my dear friend, Ms Trina Mercader:

Today, with profound happiness, I received your gracious letter, which was sent on to me by our kind friend Albert Adib.

I do not know how to express to you, my dear friend, the deep, beautiful mark that this letter of yours has left on my spirit; I am so very proud that you have enjoyed the pieces of my poetry that you have read, and my happiness was made even greater by your translation of one of my poems. I have your esteemed magazine, Al-Motamid, here in front of me now; it carries with it greetings from your pure, poetic soul and it fills me with joy to think of the literary connection that now binds our two souls with the bonds of poetry and love. How I wish, my dear, that I understood your language, so that I might read your poems, just as you have read mine; but while I am not able to read your poetry, this does not prevent it from bringing me close to you. Your friendly letter was enough to forge a spiritual bond between us that has flooded my own spirit with sweet, joyful feelings.

I send you, from afar, my warmth and affection and I offer to you my heartfelt greetings and my sincere devotion.

—Fadwa Tuqan.

Literary News

• The pens of Morocco’s literary authors were hard at work in celebration of Throne Day and Ascension Day, with our very own Ahmad al-Baqali winning the third annual prize for poetry.
• Our very own Mohammad Sabbagh has presented his book, The Burning Fragrance, for printing, with an introduction by the poet of the East, Dr Bulus Salamah. It might be printed for a second time in Tunis.
• The poet Jacinto López Gorgé has published a collection of literary books that examine poetry, prose, the short story and drama, under the title Myrtle and Laurel. He has so far issued two parts [of this]; the third part is now in publication.
• Alone with the Days, the poetry collection by the renowned Arab poet Fadwa Tuqan, has recently been published. We hope that it has a wide impact in literary circles and poetry clubs.
• The Lebanese journal Al-Adib has announced that at the start of the year it will publish a special issue on literary trends in all regions of the Arab world, including Morocco. We hope that this announcement will be picked up by the attentive ears of Moroccan researchers.
• We announce to the readers of Al-Motamid, that the editorial office has moved from Larache to Tetouan. We expect that it will be well nourished by the pens of Moroccan authors in its second home, where there are a number of young authors. We hope that these young Moroccan authors will rally around the literary league that we have called for, the establishment of which we have announced in this issue.