“Two truths approach each other. One comes from the inside, the other from outside, and where they meet we have a chance to catch sight of ourselves.”

This calligraphic work is inspired by a recent visit to Västerås – a lovely small town to the north-west of Stockholm in Sweden. During my visit, I was pleased to discover that the renowned Swedish poet Tomas Tranströmer lived and worked as a psychologist in Västerås for 35 years. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 2011.

From: The Half-Finished Heaven: the best poems of Tomas Tranströmer
English translation by Robert Bly
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

Little child of war, what suits you best:
A tattered blanket?
A plywood coffin?
A lifejacket?

When the Danish poet Henrik Nordbrandt died last January, I remembered his poem Lullaby. He wrote the poem as a reaction to photos he had seen of Aylan Kurdi, the three year old Syrian boy whose body was found on a Turkish beach. Aylan drowned during his family’s attempt to get to Europe in 2015.

In early February 2023, I decided to write a single verse from Lullaby. It was completed on 26 February, on the same day the Italian Rainews website featured a shocking headline which translates to: 45 migrants drowned, among the dead many children and even a newborn baby.

English translation by (If you know the translator, please let me know)
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

Hundreds of thousands of Yemeni demonstrators marched under this slogan on Friday 06th January 2023. All over the country they came out to condemn the sanctions imposed on them by Western powers and their regional clients.

For the past eight years Yemenis have been living under a war of aggression as well as crippling sanctions.

This calligraphy work is dedicated to the proud people of Yemen who reject to live like slaves in their own country.

13 years old. Lived in a house surrounded by flare stacks in Zubair, Basra, southern Iraq. Pollution from flaring is contributing to high rates of leukaemia and other cancers among those living in nearby towns.

Fatima who was diagnosed with acute leukaemia in 2020 died on 8th November 2021. Where she lived, last year, 2.61 billion cubic meters of gas flared, leading to 7.31m tonnes of CO2e according to Greenpeace UK analysis.

Many children who lived near oil fields and suffered from cancer have died. I am touched by the plight of these Iraqi children and their families.

In memory of Fatima, I wrote her name.

Inspired by
Iraq: Under Poisoned Skies
The toxic impact of gas flaring on people and the environment in southern Iraq
BBC News and BBC World Service
28 September, 01 October and 10 November 2022

The verse translates to:

Arabs obeyed their foreign masters,
Arabs sold their souls,
Arabs … and they were lost.

This calligraphy work was made for the 40th anniversary of the savage Israeli invasion of Lebanon in 1982 and the subsequent massacre of thousands of unarmed Palestinian and Lebanese civilians in Sabra and Shatila refugee camps by the Israeli-backed fascist Phalange militias.

Arab regimes friendly to the US were exposed by their deafening silence.

English translation by Mustafa Ja’far

Lines 1 & 2 translates to:
All my loved ones are gone and I remain (alone) like a sword (in its sheath).
A verse from a poem by Amru bin Ma’ad Yakrib (died 641AD)

Lines 3 & 4 translates to:
All my loved ones are gone and I remain a sheath without a sword.
Written by the calligrapher in the same metre

Everything changes. You can make
A fresh start with your final breath.
But what has happened has happened. And the water
You once poured into the wine cannot be
Drained off again.

What has happened has happened. The water
You once poured into the wine cannot be
Drained off again, but
Everything changes. You can make
A fresh start with your final breath.

English translation by John willett
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

Nazim Hikmet (1902-1963)

The calligraphy features lines 2 and 11 from a poem titled Ceviz Ağacı (The Walnut Tree) written on 01 July 1957.

1957 was a year of political tension in Turkey. The ruling party of the time limited press freedom and imposed restrictions on public assembly for several months. More than six decades later, the freedom of the press in Turkey is gravely undermined. The current authoritarian government has captured the media and scores of journalists are either in jail or exile.

*Gülhane is a historical park in Istanbul.

English translation by Richard McKane
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

” ينامُ الماءُ ويحلم بأنَّهُ جُرِّدَ من الدموع ”

Juan Ramón Jiménez (1881-1958)

From a poem titled “Generalife” dedicated by Juan Ramón Jiménez to Lorca’s sister Isabel. Isabel and Federico García Lorca had accompanied Jiménez to the Alhambra Palace when he visited Granada in summer 1924.

English translation by Christopher Maurer
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

Tardará mucho tiempo en nacer, si es que nace,
un andaluz tan claro, tan rico de aventura.
Yo canto su elegancia con palabras que gimen
y recuerdo una brisa triste por los olivos.

It will be a long time before there is born, if ever, an Andalusian so distinguished and rich in adventure. I sing of his elegance in words that moan, and remember a sad breeze among the olive-trees.

This is one of several poems Lorca wrote lamenting the death of his friend Ignacio Sánchez Mejías in a bull-fight in 1934. I find it a befitting elegy for the poet himself who was murdered by Franco’s fascists at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War.

English translation by J.M. Cohen
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

But whence comes the mysterious wailing?
How a buzzing silence lurks in the instrument of music,
The waters flow, but I hear something of thirst in the waves.
The air blows, why is it hard to breathe?

English translation by Salah Niazi
This calligraphic work commemorates thirty years since the 1991 Gulf War

Yannis Ritsos (1909-99)

From: Yannis Ritsos – Selected Poems
English translation by Nikos Stangos
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

“Come i poveri povero, mi attacco
come loro a umilianti speranze,
come loro per vivere mi batto
ogni giorno.”

Poor as the poor I cling, like them, to humiliating hopes; like them, each day I nearly kill myself just to live.

From: Le ceneri di Gramsci (The Ashes of Gramsci) 1954
English translation by Norman MacAfee
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

النارُ في عُلِّيَةِ جُمجُمَتي – المَطَرُ في حَدَقاتِ عُيوني – إذهب الان ، دَعني أنصَرِفُ الى مَوتي

The fire is in the attic of my skull,
the rain in the pupil of my eyes.
Go now, let me see to my death.

English translation by Feyyaz Kayacan Fergar
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

أخذت المصباح معك – بقي الضوء معي

Dulce María Loynaz, Cuban poet (1902-1997)

Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

Martin Luther King Jr (1929-1968)

Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

“One day we will have to apologize to the earth
and withdraw on the tips of our toes.”

Abdellatif Laâbi (Moroccan-French poet, 1942)
Ouvrons l’œil du cœur! [extrait]

English translation by Patrick Lennon
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

Proverb

A verse by Egyptian poet Amal Dounqul (1940-1983)

This calligraphy work is addressing those who gathered in a Bahrain hotel trumpeting their pathetic “deal of the century”.

English translation by Mustafa Ja’far

نساء : غيومٌ تمطرُ الدمع

A verse by Syrian poet Adonis (1930-)

This calligraphy work is dedicated to the Palestinian women in besieged Gaza.

English translation by Mustafa Ja’far

With the rise of populist politics, fake news and misinformation around the world, I am constantly reminded of the quote: “We’re all islands shouting lies to each other across seas of misunderstanding”, Rudyard Kipling 1890.

Talat Sait Halman (1931-2014)

English translation by Talat Sait Halman
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

Ahmed Shawqi (1868-1932)

This calligraphic work is dedicated to Syria

Orhan Veli (1914-1950)

English translation by Fayyaz Kayacan Fergar
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

Fazıl Hüsnü Dağlarca (1914-2008)

Dedicated to the hungry people of Yemen.

English translation by Talat Sait Halman
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

“The blood of the children was seen in the streets, flowing easily out, in the habit of children.”

Pablo Neruda (1904-1973)

This calligraphic work is dedicated to the innocent children of Yemen.
English translation by Ben Belitt
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

Pablo Neruda (1904-1973)

English translation by Adam Feinstien
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

Refik Durbaş (1944-2018)

English translation by Feyyaz Kayacan Fergar
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

الصباحُ أبيضْ – المساءُ أسود – حُزنٌ رَماديٌ بينهما

Abbas Kiarostami (1940-2016)

English translation by Karim Emami and Michael Beard
Arabic translation by Maher Jammu

Hafiz Shirazi (1325-1389)

In memory of my brother KJ who was buried at Cimitero Flaminio, north Rome in 1996

Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

دع الأفكار النبيلة تأتي لنا من كُلِّ جانب

Rigveda 1-89

Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956)

From: Motto To The Svendborg Poems.
English translation by John Willett
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)

Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

“Come and see the blood in the streets, come and see, the blood in the streets, come and see the blood, in the streets.”

Pablo Neruda (1904-1973)

This large calligraphic work is dedicated to the memory of all innocent victims of terrorism around the world.
English translation by Nathaniel Tarn
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

مَنْ يعلم أَيَّةُ أَهوالٍ أُخرى سَتحملُ لي السنين – لكنني أَحسُّ بِكِ جانبي – تُطيِّبينَ خاطري
Who knows what other horrors the coming years might bring me, but I feel you by my side, consoling me.

Giuseppe Ungaretti (1888-1970)

This calligraphic work is dedicated to the memory of my mother.
English and Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far 

Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)

Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

القمعيُّونَ لَيْسُوا أَحراراً

Karl Marx (1818-1883)

Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

أأكونُ أو لا أكون – ذلكَ هُو السؤالُ

William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1.
Arabic translation by Jabra Ibrahim Jabra

مرثاةٌ قديمة
الشجرةُ التي كُنتَ تَمدُّ لها يدكَ الطفوليّةُ – شجرةُ الرُمّان الخضراء – بأزهارها الحمراء الفاقعة – عادت لِتَخضَّرَ ثانيةً في الباحةِ الموحشةِ الصامتة – وحزيرانُ يُنعشُها بالضوءِ والحرارة – أنتَ يا زهرةُ نبتتي المُصابة الجافّة – أنتَ ، يا آخرَ زهرةٍ وحيدةٍ في حياتي العقيمة – أنتَ في الأرضِ الباردةِ – أنتَ في الأرض السوداء – لا الشمسُ قادرةٌ على أن تبعثَ بكَ السرور – ولا الحُبُّ بمستطاعهِ أن يوقظك

“You are in the cold earth, you are in the black earth, nor does the sun any longer delight, nor can love wake you.”

Giosue Carducci (1835-1907)

Calligraphy compositions of the last four verses of Pianto Antico (ancient lament) with the hand written Arabic translation.
English translation by George Kay
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

كُلٌّ يقفُ وحيداً على قلبِ الأرض – يختَرِقَهُ شُعاعٌ منَ الشمس – ثُمَّ سُرعانَ ما يَحلُّ المساء
“Each one stands alone on the heart of the earth, pierced through by a ray of sunlight: and in no time it’s evening.”

Salvatore Quasimodo (1901-1968)

English translation by George Kay
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

حينَ جئتُ الى شيراز في مايو – نسيتُ منْ أَينَ جئت

This homage to Shiraz is dedicated to Nasrin.
Arabic text inspired by Sa’adi Shirazi (1210-1291)

إإتني بزهرةِ عَبّاد الشمس التي جَننّها الضوء
“Bring me the sunflower maddened with light.”

Eugenio Montale (1896-1981)

This calligraphic work celebrates my 40 years of love for Rome.
English translation by George Kay
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

لو كُنتُ صَوتاً – لكُنتِ أُغنيتي

From the Sanskrit tradition
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

أما ترى الأرضَ غضبى والحصى قلقٌ

Abu Tammam (d.846)

This calligraphic work is inspired by events in Syria 2011.

في اليوم الذي تأتي فيه الحريّة – في ذلكَ اليوم ، ممنوع الموت
“The day of the coming of freedom: on that day it is forbidden to die.”

Cemal Sureya, Turkish poet (1931-1990)

English translation by Feyyaz Kayacan Fergar
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

بجانبي ، لا شيءَ سوى المسافات
“Near me nothing but distances.”

Antonio Porchia (1886-1968)

English translation by W.S. Merwin
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

هناك بعيداً عن الخطأ والصواب ، يوجد حقل . سألقاك فيه

Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273)

This calligraphic work is dedicated to the memory of my father.
English translation by Coleman Barks
Arabic translation by Mustafa Ja’far

بين زهرةٍ قُطفَتْ وأُخرى أُهديَتْ – عدمٌ لا يُمكِنُ التعبيرُ عنهُ
“Between a flower picked and another gifted, an inexplicable nothingness.”

Giuseppe Ungaretti (1888-1970)

Arabic translation by Adel El-Siwi
English translation by Mustafa Ja’far