"Star of Poetry"... Sailing on the sails of classical Arabic, he traverses a boundless sea!
By Dr. Mostapha Helwe
President of the Arab Philosophical Union
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Introduction / "Qabbani" guided him to classical Arabic poetry... and creativity blossomed!
"...His love for Nizar Qabbani was a blind love, which grew in his heart from their first meeting in 1968, the day he went to Beirut with his brother Joseph to present a copy of his colloquial poetry collection (Adolescence) to his mentor Nizar. He was seventeen years old, yet he took the copy from Charbel's hand and began to leaf through it. After a few minutes, he turned to him, saying: 'You are a poet, Charbel, but you write in Lebanese colloquial Arabic, which is not understood by more than three million people. Leave aside the language of Said Akl, for Said Akl will soon abandon it and return to writing in classical Arabic, which is read by more than one hundred million people.'" You, my friend, should focus on the many, not the few. Charbel responded, "Since I am unable to compete with you in classical Arabic poetry, of which you are the undisputed master, I will now confine myself to writing in colloquial Arabic." Nizar was impressed by his answer and invited him to lunch. "...I will now confine myself to writing in colloquial Arabic..." Examining this phrase from the dialogue between the two poets, we conclude that Baini was proceeding with his poetry in Lebanese colloquial Arabic, while leaving the door open to another option, postponed until a later date, whether long or short. Thus, our poet resorted to "linking the dispute," to use the terminology of legal scholars, a tactic employed when a legal case is delayed. The dispute is "linked" in time to maintain its effects and allow for a future return to it. Following this "historic," indeed pivotal, meeting in Charbel Baini's life and literary career, what might This foreshadowed dramatic and constructive transformations. Our poet pondered the advice he had received from a towering figure, indeed, from a leading authority on Arabic poetry. He reflected that Qabbani would not have entrusted him with the responsibility of mastering classical Arabic had he not perceived in him a poet, or a "potential poet," and he did not hesitate to bestow upon him the title of poet!
At this juncture, we can confidently say that our poet did not sleep a wink that night, having been honoured twice: once by Qabbani's conferral of that title upon him, and a second time when the two poets shared a meal! And what a profound meaning "sharing" it holds in the Arabic lexicon! Also noteworthy is the pretext that Al-Baini came up with to escape “temporarily” from the situation he was cornered in: “…as long as I am now unable to compete with you in eloquent poetry, of which you are the master…” So, in order to make a good escape—which is one of the doors of semantic eloquence—our poet placed himself on the path of challenge with Nizar Qabbani, in the coming days, so that he would follow his poetic approach, with a prior acknowledgment, indeed a submission, that his “teacher” is the undisputed master of poetry!
Perhaps the characteristic of defiance, which Charbel Baini possessed: of course (and his nature is more dominant than his nurture) and a psychological makeup, has always provided him with inexhaustible energy! In this context, we recall the testimony of engineer Rafiq Ghannoum, a friend and close associate of the poet, who said: “Charbel Baini… the magnificent rooster of Nizar Qabbani.” This Charbel, who filled the world and terrified the entire continent of Australia with his courage, ferocity, and chivalry… is the one about whom the renowned writer Joseph Hayek said: “The great writer of the Land of the Cedars, Mr. Charbel Baini, opened the pages of history and let them speak, becoming the music of maidens on the lips of prophets, who bowed their heads before the magnificence of literature, thought, and the word.” Our poet’s glory is sufficiently enhanced by the two letters/testimonies bestowed upon him by Nizar Qabbani in response to Baini’s letter to him on his golden jubilee and the day after his (Qabbani’s) honouring and receiving the Gibran International Prize. These two letters (at the end of 1993 and the beginning of 1994) breathed life into our poet and ignited his dynamism. Which he cherishes, and which is one of the constant motivators of his success and creativity!
...Yes! It is advice/burden, nay, trust—and trust weighs heavily on whoever is entrusted with it! “Indeed, we offered the Trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, and they declined to bear it and feared it; but man [undertook to] bear it.” (The Holy Quran/Surah Al-Ahzab: 72)—Charbel Baini bore it, and fulfilled his promise. When the time came to fulfill it, he set out to navigate the turbulent sea, and the sails of his ship were unfurled upon the shores of Classical Arabic, and he was among the successful!
Baini began to ask himself: Why not take the path of Classical Arabic in poetry, without abandoning the colloquial Arabic with which I was born, so that I may attain the best of both worlds, and the glory of both languages?! How could I not, when I have taken that “Nizar” as my role model and ideal?!
And so it was with such boldness, our poet earned his poetic "Nizarite" status, as well as the position of disciple to his teacher. He consistently reiterated, in all his pronouncements, that Nizar was his literary role model. In an interview conducted by the literary activist Huda al-Sabbagh, when asked about his ideal in life, he replied without hesitation: "Socially, my father, and literarily, Nizar Qabbani, because he was considered the first to stage a powerful revolution against poetry, making people love it more." He added that Qabbani "brought poetry down from its ivory towers and luxurious palaces, and adorned the huts of the poor with it!"
While some believe that God creates forty look-alikes in physical appearance, not in intellectual creativity, we maintain that Al-Baini bears a striking resemblance to his teacher and muse, embodied in the delicacy and clarity of his language, the naturalness of his expression, and the fluidity of his poetry. The flowing, which tickles the ears and descends, upon the hearts, as coolness and peace! Thus, our poet truly becomes one of the "disciples" of the "Nizari" poetic school: themes and expressive discourse. And this is what we will devote ample space to, when we approach the themes that the "star of poetry" is vying for, and the messages that he sends to readers, across the Arab scene!
In the ongoing debate surrounding the issue of colloquial and classical Arabic, and specifically as it relates to our topic, while we agree with the poet Nizar Qabbani's urging of Al-Baini to address the majority of Arabs rather than a minority, we would like to point out that the Lebanese dialect is not isolated from the dialects of other Arab countries. It is one of the Levantine dialects (of the Levant), understood not only by Lebanese but also by Syrians and Palestinians. This dialect has also gained traction in the Americas, both North and South, since the beginning of the last century, with the arrival of Lebanese immigrants in particular, and Arabs from the Levant in general. Those coming from Lebanon were often perceived as Syrians and were labelled as such by the inhabitants of those countries. This does not mean, however, that we place the dialect, in terms of its geographical spread, on par with classical Arabic, which represents a unifying language and a common linguistic denominator across the Arab world. Furthermore, we are not advocates of replacing Classical Arabic with colloquial Arabic, especially given the dubious conflict that raged from the beginning to the middle of the 20th century between those who championed colloquial Arabic and the staunch defenders of Classical Arabic. Egypt, and later Lebanon, became the stage for this conflict, spearheaded by the late Lebanese poet Said Akl (1912-2014). It's worth noting that he was one of the greatest and most creative poets in Classical Arabic, a master of unparalleled artistry! He sang of "Makkah” and its people the honourable and the brave," he sang of Jerusalem as "the Flower of Cities," and he expressed in his verses about the Levant what no poet before him has said, nor will any poet after him ever say! However, a shift occurred in the trajectory of this great poet. He turned away from Classical Arabic and embraced Lebanese colloquial Arabic, even going so far as to advocate for the use of the Latin alphabet, in addition to a few newly created letters designed to suit Lebanese phonetics. This alphabet, comprising thirty-six letters, was dubbed the "Lebanese Intellectual Alphabet"!
It should be noted that Charbel Baini and his contemporaries, poets of the vernacular, wanted to speak their local language, the language of their people, convinced that language is a component of national and cultural identity, and of belonging to a geographical space with its own unique character. And if there is one distinguishing feature of the vernacular, it is, according to linguists, "the daily sustenance of the people!" Furthermore, there were no underlying reasons or motives that would raise suspicion regarding the adoption of this approach by colloquial poets. Among these poets are those who never left the realm of colloquial poetry, remaining confined to it, either by choice and conviction, or due to a lack of proficiency in classical Arabic and mastery of prosody and rhetoric. As for those who turned to classical Arabic, some achieved remarkable success, foremost among them the poet Charbel Baini. We paused to consider this dual success in our analysis of his magnificent collection, "I Love You," published in Sydney just a few weeks ago!
Baini sought to demonstrate his "competence" and superiority in both poetic forms, so he cast his net at the "confluence of the two seas," the flowing sea of colloquial Arabic and the sea of classical Arabic, thus attaining the glory of both classical Lebanese and Arabic poetry, which, ultimately, share a common linguistic root. As proof of this dual success, and based on the fact that his poetic talent is the same in both, he presented us with "Al-Mirbadiya," one of his masterpieces, incorporating classical Arabic poetry, free verse, and colloquial verse. This eloquent poem serves as his sole testament, a single instance of his mastery in all poetic forms: classical and colloquial. Thus, the Lebanese poet from Mejdlaya merged with the Arab poet from attraction, a truly remarkable combination!
…And as we delve deeper into this issue, the issue of colloquial versus classical Arabic, given its presence in Al-Baini’s poetic output, we find that Lebanese colloquial poetry, belonging to the realm of popular poetry, represents an element of Lebanese heritage, connected to classical poetry, though its language differs from classical Arabic within certain boundaries.
Regarding its most important features, the expatriate writer Jamil Doaihi believes it is richer in its ability to embody traditions and oral heritage. Within its folds, we find information about the lives of previous generations, their ways of life, rituals, and behaviours on various occasions, from holidays and weddings to funerals—not to mention their distinctive accents and proverbs that they incorporated into their speech. Doaihi adds that Lebanese colloquial Arabic shares some poetic meters with Classical Arabic, meaning that it does not lack musical rhythm, a cornerstone of poetry and the defining characteristic that distinguishes poetry from prose.
As for the connection between Lebanese colloquial Arabic and other Arabic dialects, anyone examining the types of colloquial poetry in the Arab countries neighbouring Lebanon will clearly see that some of these entered through the interaction within the Levantine triangle (Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine), as we alluded to earlier. Some Lebanese poets used to perform at events and celebrations in Syria and Palestine (before the 1948 Nakba).
...Furthermore, on the use of colloquial poetry, particularly its connection to the cultural heritage it embodies, the poet Muhammad Ali Shams al-Din, in his analysis of Dr. [Michel Khalil Shiha]'s book, "The Luminaries of Colloquial Poetry in Lebanon," recounts how he felt he was discovering "for the first time the rose and the breeze, the clear spring, the sparrow, and the faces of the peasants carved from the mountain rock... these faces that time, polluted and worn, had almost forgotten." He adds that in this poetry, the fragrance of the mountain wafts, a rock rises, a pickaxe clangs, the sun glides across a tree, or a sparrow makes its beloved, enchanting flights. Regarding the comparison between colloquial and classical poetry, the Egyptian poet Ahmed Fouad Negm is said to have preferred Bayram al-Tunisi to Ahmed Shawqi, and Salah Jahin to Salah Abdel Sabour. It is also said that Ahmed Shawqi repeatedly remarked, "I fear for classical Arabic because of Bayram al-Tunisi." In Lebanon, Rashid Nakhla's majestic opening lines in his zajal poems blend grand cosmic elements—the sun, mountains, winds, and seas—with elements of his own being. Powerful poetry, reminiscent of Ahmed Shawqi himself!
Regarding the impact of colloquial poetry, the writer Maroun Abboud says: "If a vernacular poet recites a poem at a gathering, the seats and chairs shake with approval, and heads sway like branches beneath the gentle breeze."
...In addition to all that we have mentioned, what is recorded in the category of colloquial poetry is realism, wit, expression of feelings, and modes of communication—something that most classical poetry cannot achieve!
In the message of poetry, as Charbel Baini sees it!
"People seek their salvation in poetry, and consider it their awaited messiah!"...A phrase signed by Nizar Qabbani, who sees poetry as a wide door, open to hope and salvation! And since Baini draws from this very vision, he clings to a constant he has adhered to in his poetry: "My poetry is purposeful, not demagogic!"—a principle he intends to uphold in all his work. His literary output spanned over fifty years, and he never deviated from his path, never once miscalculating!
Thus, our poet, in his colloquial poetry as well as his classical verse, sought to elevate poetry to a prophetic mission. His stances were bold, proclaimed without fear, bringing him close to perdition! These are stances of honour, taken only by those with a mission, those who dedicate themselves to their people, their nation, their society, and indeed, to all of humanity!
Undoubtedly, the message of poetry and the poet is only truly grasped, its aims and dimensions understood, by those endowed with a profound sense of humanity, deeply aware of the wounds of the nation, the tragedies of their society, and the suffering of humankind alike!
...It is the message to which our poet dedicated himself, from the perspective of his position and role... It is a message of struggle, striving for the triumph of the values of truth, goodness, and beauty!
In exploring the role of our poet in this struggle, and the direction of his poetry, we can examine the texts of "Star of Poetry," seeking the ultimate purpose that permeates his poetry, becoming an indelible, unchanging mark upon the body and soul of his poems!
Grasping at the beginning of this question, a series of questions immediately arise, most notably: What is poetry? What are its fundamental pillars? What is its role, what fields does it cover, and what spaces does it reach? In answering these questions, can the Prince of Poets, Shawqi, provide us with some answers, which he encapsulated in one of his verses: "Poetry, unless it is memory and emotion/ Or wisdom, is merely meter and rhyme"?
Despite the importance of these foundations, they remain incomplete, as they fail to consider, indeed, they disregard, one of the most prominent dimensions of poetry: the dimension of struggle, which is a distinctly functional dimension!
...Poetry is memory, emotion, and wisdom—three elements that are insufficient, as they overlook the commitment to the causes of the afflicted, the wounded, and the oppressed among the people of the nation and the homeland! Thus, from a position of struggle, Charbel Baini proclaims the true message of poetry, completing what Shawqi had left out: "For poetry, from the beginning, is a nation's revolution/ That came to purify souls of demands/ And poetry, what is immortal in poetry/ Unless tyrants kill its talents" (from the poem: Gibran).
Through this "revolutionary" vision, poetry acquires a profoundly charged credibility, giving voice to the burning issues within the people. No poet achieves immortality unless they are subjected to oppression at the hands of tyrants who strive to stifle their voice; thus, their reward is the greatest reward... It is in the arena of struggle that poetry truly finds its battle and its manifestations, not on platforms, in closed halls, or among elites seated in comfortable chairs! And it is not only teachers who grant approval; even executioners have their graduates from the schools of oppression and tyranny—and what graduates they are!
In this context, did not our poet appreciate the role of Nizar Qabbani, his role model, as "the first to revolt against poetry with a powerful revolution, bringing it down from its ivory towers and luxurious palaces, and using it to adorn the huts of the poor?!" From this perspective, the poet doesn't craft his expressions with conventional language, but rather from the fire of his inner turmoil: "My heart is in turmoil with separation/ With fire I forged poetry and sentences" (Ahed Tamimi).
Based on this understanding of the true dimensions of poetry, our poet dedicated himself, from a position of divine mission, to a sacred task: "...and I dedicated myself to holiness as a poet" (The Day We Departed).
Undoubtedly, the sanctity of this mission did not arise from nothing, but is divinely ordained and blessed: "...O poet, whose letters God crafted/ Rebuke, so that words may restrain your people/ You are strong, in expression and resolve/ And to you, in the evening, the heart yearns" (Shadows).
This sacred message becomes the standard by which poetry is measured; the poet either triumphs magnificently or falls spectacularly. Thus, on the day of his celebration of winning the Gibran International Prize, our poet addressed Gibran in his grave, saying: "Believe, O Gibran, the absolute poet / Whose words are chewed by the jaws of folly will vanish/ We, in the land of exile, ignite our poetry/ So that remnants may die in the land of our ancestors/ And I have written a poem about a homeland/ When I say: Lebanon, on the horizon, has built a dwelling/ Sydney sang of it, and minds chose it" (Gibran).
And to the extent that poetry possesses a militant character, it must shun trivial speech and all that smacks of vulgarity and cheapness! Thus, it was a call to restore poetry to its former glory, to return it to its bygone days when it held power and authority: "Return to poetry its bygone days / Most poems are the product of folly/ They consider poetry trivial talk/ Mere chatter that has bewildered the wise" (O Guardians of Poetry).
In this context, with the aim of protecting poets from any dangers that threaten them individually, and as they are exposed to the temptations of leaders who are adept at buying and selling loyalties, our poet calls for the establishment of unifying frameworks for them: "Poetry, unless embraced by bonds/ Becomes a mere scribe for the leader/ Its thoughts become confused and conflicting/ And they climb upon it, for personal gain and positions" (Gibran).
In highlighting the role of expatriate poetry, our poet appreciates the contribution of Australian media in conveying the voices of poets freely and without financial burden, unlike the situation in his homeland and throughout the Arab world, where freedoms are suppressed and those who speak out are persecuted: "...We toiled so that thought might remain responsible/ For the people whose world is captive/ For the people thrown into prison/ As judgments are thrown into the mire/ Here, the media gives us without treachery/ So that poetry may become self-made verses" (Iraqi).
...And it remains true that the poet's message—like poetry itself—which we have discussed, knows no tranquillity, no submission, and sleep finds no way to it: "...Does the eye of poetry sleep soundly/ While calamities strut upon its lashes?!" (Shadows).
"The Star of Poetry" / Poetic Colours, Themes, and Messages Under the Microscope!
"Star of Poetry," as its author intended it to be a poetic rainbow, is a collection of selected poems from some of his works, resulting in a "star" that illuminates the spaces of his poetry woven in classical Arabic! Thus, it is difficult to categorize these poems, with their eclectic nature, under a single poetic genre!
In observing the dominant poetic styles in this collection, we find they oscillate between lyrical poetry, overflowing with the poet's alienation, a torrent of pain, longing, and memories, and all the anguish of nostalgia that spills from his soul; and patriotic poetry with a political foundation, where the poet carries in his heart and soul the burden of a homeland beset by calamities, strangled by a corrupt political class addicted to corruption and moral decay, leading the country to a disastrous fate; and pan-Arab poetry, where our poet is burdened by the concerns of a nation declining to its lowest point in various fields; and poetry dedicated to coexistence and the recognition of the other, especially in terms of religious affiliation.
In addition to these four colours, there is a poetic colour encompassing thirty poems, covering two-thirds of the collection (30 poems out of 44). This dominant poetic colour leans towards praise and "occasional" celebration, through two poetic narratives—as we like to call them—the first of which, through twelve poems, addresses ten Arab cities/or capitals (glorifying Baghdad in two poems), in addition to a poem about "Mazraat al-Shouf," the cradle of "the Baini families," while the second narrative (18 poems) praises twenty-one figures who played roles of great importance, each from their own position, some of whom have departed to eternity, and some of whom are still active and alive!
And to these four colours, there is a poetic colour that encompasses thirty poems, covering two-thirds of the collection (30 poems out of 44). While these thirty poems outwardly possess a celebratory and laudatory character, they collectively form platforms from which the poet expresses stances and visions related to the theme of alienation, national and pan-Arab political poetry, and other poetic forms. Beyond all these poetic styles, there is room for wisdom poetry and reflections that reveal a profound life experience and a penetrating insight into the vicissitudes and sorrows of time. ...In parallel with the poetic arts we have reviewed, it is justifiable for us to move to the themes that are distributed throughout the poems of "Star of Poetry," placing them under the microscope and dissecting them, examining their arguments and what they indicate in terms of dimensions, aims, and messages:
A- The theme of alienation: It is fragmentation...
It is estrangement in its two aspects: alienation from the self in its destructive psychological dimension (alienation), and geographical/spatial estrangement... Indeed, it is a bleeding wound, through both forms of estrangement, that cannot be healed, and remains, day and night, open to excruciating and renewed pain! That is what the expatriate endures from the moment his feet touch foreign soil and an environment completely unrelated to his own. The pangs of longing begin, and the passage of time becomes a constant struggle between memory and reality: "How many homes on earth does a young man become familiar with, yet his longing is always for his first home!"
An expatriate may experience a kind of tranquillity, not comfort, after a period of time away from their homeland. This adaptation is often "forced," based on the principle of "if you can't have what you want, then want what you have!" This adaptation may be more effective for expatriate intellectuals, as the new environment provides them with ample freedom and welcomes their "revolutionary" thought, which was stifled in their homelands. Thus, the temporary alternative homeland compensates for the original one, and the latter may even become the original homeland for those who have achieved exceptional success. This leads to a merging of the two and a transition to a "cosmopolitan" homeland, one that transcends the confines of local/national geography and embraces the vastness of the world under the umbrella of globalization, which has spread its wings across the entire universe. This is some of what I discussed with our poet, Al-Baini, during the debate I mentioned in my introduction to his collection "Maniacs," which was published... Electronically and in print, in Sydney, just a few weeks ago. Al-Baini disagreed with my “globalized” perspective, as he still sees himself, and is seen, as a son of “Mejdlaya,” not of Merrylands, the area in Sydney where he has lived for five decades. And beyond the process of rejection—if I may call it that—that our poet experiences from time to time, the pain of alienation remains deeply ingrained in him, as was evident in the debate we mentioned earlier! Indeed, alienation has become his bitter daily bread, like a daily pain that constantly gnaws at him!
Following our approach to the theme of alienation through “Star of Poetry,” it becomes clear that there are poems that revolve entirely around this theme, and others that oscillate between more than one poetic style, one of which is alienation. Added to this are the expatriate reflections woven into the folds of the two narratives: the urban one (referring to the cities celebrated) and the one that praises certain prominent figures. These two narratives, as mentioned earlier, serve as platforms from which our poet addresses this thesis and various other issues.
...The homeland is that pain coursing through our poet's veins. When he addresses three pillars of Lebanese zajal (George Abu Antoun, Elias Khalil, and Antoun Saade), who were honoured in Sydney, he entrusts them with a message of anguish for the homeland he left behind, the homeland he still inhabits: "...If you return to our land, tell it: It flows as blood in our veins!" (O Guardians of Poetry).
And as he addresses the last of the great classical poets, Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri, he confides in him the pain that accompanies him wherever he goes: "I was far from your home, do you know that I carry my weariness? Wherever I turn, my exile is pain. Oh, how I wish you would come to my exile!" (Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri).
Perhaps our poet, in inviting al-Jawahiri to visit him in his Australian exile, wants him to witness al-Baini's pain firsthand, for seeing is believing! In addressing our poet Said Akl, he laments the state of his homeland, ruled by the infidels and the corrupt, and expresses the despair that grips him due to displacement, as life passes him by, and gray hairs have crept into his eyes: “Our Lebanon, O Akl, you are its shield/ Why does the idol rule?/ Look at its face, disgusted/ And lava erupts in its jaws/ We despair of our dispersal/ We are enveloped by weariness in exile/ Look at us, our gray hair is regret/ Have mercy... regret may be of no use” (Said Akl).
And no matter how far the distances stretch between the poet’s homeland and his exile, he remains longing for it, for the beautiful era of his homeland still occupies his heart and ignites his emotions! Undeterred by distances, he yearns to return to it. But alas, how could he confront the relentless march of time, which carries him toward old age, thus preventing that longed-for return? "My land, though far away/ My feet yearn for it/ I run... but a grave of nothingness precedes me" (My Flag).
Thus, the dream of returning home burns within him as a painful longing: "My exile... a fire of painful yearning/ And my return is the sweetest promise" (Star of Poetry).
This constant yearning, for our poet, has become a state of love at its highest level. His homeland is his beloved, and when a beloved departs from their beloved, death becomes their fate (lover and beloved!). He loved his homeland, a love that spanned two lifetimes: the era of his youth and the one he was living through. He wondered reproachfully why his homeland hadn't reciprocated that love, and what had befallen it: "My eyes saw you, my beloved... no wonder/ that they loved you and my ears rejoiced/ I loved you for two lifetimes... Was it Longin / that gifted you a lifetime, which roamed through my body/ that my soul had protected since my upbringing/ What befell you that you didn't cherish love?/ Take the rest of my life, for no homeland / is sweet... nor has any embraced the soil of my shroud" (What Befell You).
Thus, in addition to the yearning to return, there is another concern that troubles our poet: the embrace of his homeland's soil for his grave—may God grant him a long life—otherwise, this homeland will never be sweet in his eyes! After five decades of forced displacement, tossed about by its turbulent winds, the poet has every right to cling to the hope of returning to his homeland: "I spent my life like the wind, a wanderer/ But your face was always my destination" (Beirut).
It would be easier to bear if the pain of exile were confined to the displaced expatriate. But there is another party, more acutely aware of that pain: the family he left behind, especially the mother. She sees the umbilical cord that bound her to her son, even before his birth, severed. She lost the one she nurtured and raised when fate snatched him from her through a heinous crime, "plotted in the night." And so, within this mother, a part of herself began to die! In this field, there are two poems, one of which our poet dedicated to his mother, while the second was addressed to all mothers grieving the alienation of their sons! They are two poems, among the most beautiful poems in the collection, overflowing with pain beyond pain!
In his poem "To My Mother," he begins, pleading, calling out to his mother, for departure has devastated him and wrought havoc upon his heart. He has become ailing, weeping for his displacement, his face drenched with tears when the night's oppression intensifies, causing him to burst into sobs, even wailing. Then our poet expresses his longing for the warmth of his mother's bosom, for the hands that embrace him tenderly, elevating that grieving mother to another deity, worshipping in her sanctuary: "O Mother... Departure continues to Destroy me... My heart is ailing/ I live in separation, drunk with my tears/ The darkness of the night, tormented by wailing/ (...) I long for an arm to envelop me in affection/ And the warmth of a bosom to prolong my slumber/ (...) The peoples of the earth have bestowed upon you glory/ Few are like a mother, O Mother." (…) If I say God, I say my mother/ For I have a glorious Lord in love for her/ And I have eternal paradise in her embrace… After this captivating reading, of the mother’s suffering and her elevation to the highest heavens, the poet reaches the heart of his poem, crying out in supplication to God to return him to his homeland, or rather to his mother (and the homeland, in the end, is a mother, just as the mother is a homeland!), after separation has weighed heavily upon him: “…Why is separation, O Lord, so long?/ Return me… Do not prolong my longing/ How beautiful is her nearness to me… How beautiful” (To My Mother).
… As for the second poem, "A Mother's Prayer," which is the most poignant, due to the pain of separation that overwhelms every mother, separated from her children by "spatial" and temporal distances, it evokes pity for this grieving mother, who clings to life, despite her failing body, in order to feast her eyes on her grandchildren, for "there is nothing dearer than a child except a grandchild," or as Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (peace be upon him) says: "My grandson is my son twice over!" Here is this grieving mother... Let us listen to her as she addresses her beloved children with a heart-wrenching plea: "The paths of life have narrowed with your departure/ And separation hides your tears in my eyes/ (...) Have you not seen my gray hairs swarming my temples?/ (...) Have you not seen my steps slow and weary?/ (...) Return to an embrace like no other/ Unless you come to the gardens of my paradise..." But what exacerbates her sorrow is her deprivation of seeing her grandchildren, as we mentioned earlier, who are her very soul and the hope of her future, as she declares in this address/prayer: "...My only dream is to see your children/ (...) Your children are my soul and the hopes of my tomorrow/ (...) Do not deprive me of the gifts of my Creator/ Do not imprison me in the mirrors of my loneliness..." And how intense is the longing that overwhelms the grandmother when she looks at what her grandchildren left behind after their visit to Lebanon, from the scattered drawings of the motherland, stands before these drawings, like poets upon ruins: "Their drawings I nurtured with my hands/ So that my pillow might drink of their fragrance/ And my sheets might flourish with their shade/ And my fingers and my kiss might be intoxicated" (A Mother's Invocation).
Thus, after this comprehensive overview, it becomes clear that Lebanon constituted, and remains, a moment of love, chosen by Charbel Baini, until his last breath. It is a moment towards which he journeys, a stranger, an exile, a wanderer... burning with the fire of longing, constantly awakened by the yearning for reunion, indeed, by the very moment of reunion that has not yet come, and may never come! And therein lies his tragedy!
Undoubtedly, this moment of "existential" love has been a recurring theme for most exiled writers, poets and authors alike, but it appeared most prominently in our poet, making him truly deserving of the title "Poet of Exile." No one disputes this title, which he so proudly proclaims!
Charbel Baini, the “teacher” and intellectual, who emigrated to Australia in his youth, carried with him a wealth of poetry. Unlike many immigrants, he had the tools for poetic creativity in a country where freedom of expression was ample!
Other uneducated immigrants may have written of their exile in tears, knowing only how to weep and wail, while Baini wrote of his exile in tears, inscribing them on paper as the most exquisite expression of exile and displacement. He wrote it with the blood of his heart, the wine of his pens, responding to the call of the Romantic poet Elias Abu Shabaka: “Wound the heart and let your poetry drink from it / For the blood of the heart is the wine of the pens!”
Thus, throughout his various collections, we observe, in both content and lexical field, what unequivocally points to… Defeat, heartbreak, and the dream of returning to a homeland from which one was uprooted—these are interwoven with endless existential struggles, chief among them the clash of cultures and civilizations, the clash of customs and traditions... all of which fall under the umbrella of the identity crisis!
In embodying the wretched state of the expatriate/exiled from his homeland, Edward Said, one of the leading Arab thinkers in the American (North) diaspora, describes exile as "one of the most heart-breaking fates" (from his book: Representations of the Intellectual). He adds, in one of his essays, titled "Reflections on Exile," that "exile is a place that encourages thought, but it is also terrifying!" For the rift it creates in the exile is irreparable!
This existential fate (and fate is one of the pillars of human existence) in all its manifestations is one that Al-Baini has lived through to the fullest and remains trapped within, offering his perspective. For Arabic literature, this time - and it is one of the times - through his collection “Star of Poetry”, he has produced a high poetic output about alienation, and this collection, woven in classical Arabic and in clear language, has established for him a high rank among his peers, the poets of the diaspora, in the four corners of the earth!
B- On the Political-National Axis
For Al-Baini, the political-national axis is the “fraternal” axis, interacting in a dialectical movement with the axis of alienation. This is because alienation, to a large extent—its background and motivations—is a manifestation of the dire and deteriorating political situation, the woes of which are being borne by the majority of Lebanese. There is a political class, “wrapped in depravity,” as our poet puts it, that has consistently oppressed the Lebanese and practiced all kinds of tyranny against them. At the height of its corruption and depravity, it did not hesitate to impoverish the people to the point of famine, nor to sell the homeland after mortgaging it to foreigners and outsiders of all kinds. Not content with the injustice it perpetrated, this class drove hundreds of thousands of Lebanese into forced migration in successive waves, particularly during the period of the dirty civil war, in which it had a dark hand. Moreover, it prevents these migrants, clinging to their homeland, from returning, having reduced the country to a barren wasteland, a space of hunger, suppression of public freedoms, persecution of those who speak out, and the stifling of creativity in the sands of its profound ignorance and blind delusion!
Thus, our poet had to expose this controlling class—not the ruling class, for governance and politics, in their essence, are about managing people's affairs—and to reveal its misdeeds and the sins and violations it commits against its people, obstructing the process of radical change by brandishing the deadly weapon of sectarianism as an "effective" means to divide the Lebanese and sow discord among them. This weapon, unfortunately, has proven its effectiveness, blocking the path to the establishment of a state of law, institutions, social justice, and equal opportunities! Faced with these dire circumstances, which Charbel had witnessed first-hand before emigrating to Australia in the early 1970s—and which had already touched him with their flames when he published his two poetry collections in Lebanon, "Adolescence" (1986) and "Scattered Poems" (1970)—through his daily observations of these conditions in his adopted country, which were rapidly worsening, he felt compelled to enter the fray. He relentlessly attacked the ruling elite with the fire of his poetry, both colloquial and classical, for they had destroyed the land, decimated the people, and sought to perpetuate their control over the nation, becoming like aged vinegar that inflames the wounds of the homeland: "They roamed... and destroyed our crops and our families / And with our rations, they aged the vinegar of leadership" (A Stranger's Writer).
And as our poet hurls the most vile epithets at corrupt rulers, he, through his "birds of Ababil," pelts them with "stones of baked clay" to render them "like chaff consumed!"... Thus he speaks of the deceitful tyrant who mortgages the lives of his people to cling eternally to the throne, and of lying leaders whose nature is treachery, hastening their steps down the paths of betrayal, leading their people astray: "Our lives are mortgaged to preserve positions/ In which a deceitful tyrant reigns/ (...) Their leaders, the path of betrayal is their path/ (...) If they resolve, then treachery is in their resolve/ And if they speak, then their saliva is deceitful" (Shadows).
Al-Baini sees his homeland, Lebanon, as existing outside of time, and he grieves for its state; indeed, his wounds bleed. How could he not grieve when he sees the greedy merchant strutting about, unrestrained by religion or values, profiting from the poor man's meagre sustenance! And to those people, there are the rulers, brought from the museum of infidels, devoid of heart and conscience!
As much as this reality pains him, he criticizes the people for their complacency, even their refusal to confront their tyrannical rulers and the dire misery that befalls them: "What has befallen you today, my country?/ You live in a time outside of time/ (...) An earthly devil, a greedy merchant/ (...) His dollar is the hunger of the poor/ Woe to him, a gluttonous merchant!" And about his country's rulers, the deaf and dumb, "Rulers from a pagan museum/ (...) Drowning in a sea of disbelief and decay" (What has befallen you?).
Because of this stagnant popular reality, it is not surprising, according to our poet, that the people are led like sheep by an arrogant partisan, while the people are content to praise this lying and treacherous thief. Indeed, everything about him exposes his secret and reveals treachery. This partisan is only quenched by the blood of the people, he lives like a king, while poverty and need nest in the huts! Ironically, the people are aware of their shortcomings, so instead of heaping curses on this thief who breathes lies, inhaling and exhaling, they raise the banner of tolerance! “Like sheep, we are led by a partisan/ arrogant, wavering leader/ We greet, every day, our thief/ the one who steals the honour of greeting/ He is a liar. and treachery is in his joints/ even his breath is more deceitful than his words/ (...) he drinks nothing but red blood/ like a prince, he is pampered in his palace/ and poverty is tormented in our huts/ at his wedding all creatures rejoice/ and at our death no honourable person mourns/ (...) but my people are good and tolerant/ and death comes so that the good may suffer” (Party Leader).
Perhaps our poet's love for his homeland fuelled his anger towards the leaders and rulers who had wreaked havoc upon it and brought its golden age to a standstill! This love manifested itself creatively in his description of his country's flag, bestowing upon it the most beautiful attributes, and in his pride in his ancestors, the builders of his nation's glory since ancient times: "...The weeping red/ I coloured it with my blood/ And the complaining white/ I sanctified it with my mouth/ (...) Our ancestors planted/ A glory from antiquity" (My Flag).
Within the context of the political/social debate, these deeply deteriorating conditions on the political level inevitably lead to a decline on the social level (the spread of crime and the perpetration of vices, the reversal of social norms, etc.), leaving negative repercussions on value systems, which have become utterly forgotten: "All paths are fraught with trials/ Wherever we go, strife erupts/ For killing has become our obsession/ Work and professions are made sweet by it/ (...) Our morals, our thoughts have withered/ Like one enveloped by decay/ (...) Even mother's milk is depressed/ Our hatred has surpassed the milk/ Oh, if only my time would end/ So I could see what time leaves behind" (My Time).
C- On the Arab Axis
To the same degree as our poet's deeply rooted nationalistic inclination, his Arabist leanings were equally strong. It should be noted that his Arab identity is not the Arab identity of the "nationalists" who exploit it and sacrifice it on the altar of oppressive and tyrannical regimes, but rather a civilized Arab identity that strives for the good of the nation and its advancement to the ranks of developed nations.
Our poet witnessed firsthand the oppressive practices of Arab regimes against their people, particularly those referred to in political parlance as "state-bourgeois regimes." These regimes subjected their people to all forms of subjugation, starvation, and humiliation, not to mention inflicting defeats upon them, most notably the loss of Palestine, the defeat in all the wars that followed the Nakba of 1948, and the complete occupation of Jerusalem by the Zionist enemy!
Thus, Charbel Baini raised his voice in a resounding lament for the dire state to which the Arabs had sunk in all their countries, and for the ever-increasing misery and suffering endured by their people. Ironically—and this is a uniquely Arab characteristic! —these regimes, even in the midst of their defeats, raise their fingers in a victory sign, for victory, in their view, means the safety of the regimes and those who occupy their seats of power, even if their people perish and the country is ravaged!
...And when we characterize exile literature as literature with a prophetic message, it is because it seeks to understand and express the Arab reality without fear or hesitation. It possesses both the vision and the potential to ignite a revolution in all of Arabic literature, stemming from its ability to grasp this reality and avoid getting bogged down in misleading details. This is especially significant given that literature within the Arab world is threatened by police censorship as well as by religious authorities of all stripes.
In addition to these characteristics that define contemporary diaspora literature, it is, according to literary critic Dr. Muhammad Mandour, a literature of quiet reflection (far removed from empty rhetoric), because it is profound, realistic, and connected to life, devoid of discourse and superficial cultural expression. In our exploration of our poet's "Arabism," we pause to consider the defeat of Arab regimes, despite their false claims of victory, or of a promised victory. It is worth noting that their most bitter defeat was the loss of Jerusalem, the second and the third holiest site in Islam. Indeed, it is a sacred land where Islam and Christianity intersect, through a historical embrace between the crescent and the cross!
How deeply our poet was pained by the Israeli enemy's occupation of the Syrian Golan Heights! He wonders how the Arab peoples can accept the violation of their lands, holding those in charge of the Arab regimes responsible for reclaiming them from the hands of their Zionist usurpers: "Ah, my beloved people/ When lamentation overwhelms you/ (...) Will Jerusalem be lost to us?/ There is no one among us to answer/ The holiest of places was/ From crescent or cross/ The Golan Heights is not/ A tent sheltering the stranger/ This beloved land/ How can we accept its abandonment?/ No leader said: Stop/ From near or far!" (Ah, my people).
... In his poem "Marcel Khalife," on the day of his tribute in the New South Wales Parliament (Sydney) in 2019, Al-Baini criticizes the Arab leaders, saying that the loss of Jerusalem did not trouble any of them, as if the matter did not concern them at all! And how wonderful it would have been if they had triumphed over their enemy just once, for he would have kissed their heads. But they are liars and hypocrites: “Jerusalem is lost… Do not ask about the direction of prayer/ No leader has been troubled by our Jerusalem/ (…) Oh, if only they had weakened my enemy just once/ So that I might kiss the heads of our Arab leaders/ But they have covered the horizon with lies/ And lies are salt… Ah, our salt!”
And how much our poet was pained by what had become of Iraq, that rising Arab nation, which had reached a level of scientific progress unmatched by any other Arab country, thus posing a potential threat to the Israeli presence. Consequently, it was besieged from 1992 until 2003 when the international coalition (America and Britain…) invaded it, destroying all its achievements and all its cultural landmarks, and pushing it down the path of discord among its sects and ethnicities! Thus, Al-Baini lamented the pain of wounded Iraq: “Baghdad, you are the letter and the pen/ Have mercy on you... how pain has overwhelmed you!” (Baghdad Media). Such was the depth of our poet’s love for Iraq and its capital, Baghdad, that he dedicated two poems to it in his urban narrative, while dedicating one poem to each of the other Arab cities and capitals included in this narrative. He also dedicated two other poems to it, titled “Iraqi” and “One People.”
...In the poem "One People," Beirut weeps blood for Baghdad, because the people of Iraq have become martyrs, and they call for takbir (Allahu Akbar) for them! How can Beirut not weep, when wars have ravaged the Arabs, perhaps the most brutal of which was what befell Iraq and its people, where the land was invaded by a treacherous group, more akin to the devil, who killed children and enslaved chaste women: "...This is Beirut, O Baghdad, weeping/ Wipe away the tears, for tears are red/ If you weep today, we weep every day/ Every inch of you, O Baghdad, is a jewel/ Your people, the human being, have become martyrs/ Say 'Allahu Akbar' for them... for God is greater/ (...) My people died when wars annihilated us/ Tell me, if you hear, does the grave feel?/ (...) A treacherous group invades my land/ Resembling the devil, nay, even more cunning in evil/ Killing children, enslaving pure women/ If we were to describe purity... we would say: They are the purest." In his poem "Iraqi," in addition to lamenting Iraq, he also laments Egypt, and the Nile overflows with the tears of his eyes: "...How many tears from our eyes are in the Nile / And how many Euphrates-like sighs are in our throats?"... Al-Baini seized this opportunity to delve, through this poem as well, into the various forms of suffering endured by Arab peoples, from illiteracy and a superstitious, mystical mentality, to the abandonment of Arabism, not to mention the clinging to outdated traditions rather than the authenticity of heritage: "If the people of the Arabic language are illiterate/ They will be invaded by mad pitfalls/ And bubbles and superstitious filth will grow upon their necks and bodies/ (...) And all shame to live by morals/ It is madness to call them heritage/ O land we abandoned in droves/ We erased the name to abolish Arabism/ (...) We left it, and nothing remained but "A transgressor and herds of forgotten neglect" (Iraqi). Undoubtedly, the dominance of a fatalistic mentality has rendered the Arab people’s passive, paralysing their will to change and overthrow their deplorable conditions. Hence, in the face of this resignation, our poet likens the Arab peoples to sheep, even sheep might be ashamed of them in this state! "Jerusalem is lost, our people are sheep/ Out of fear, even sheep might be ashamed!" (Said Akl). Elsewhere, he uses a similar metaphor, describing his people as sheep being led to slaughter, terrified and panicked: "My people... are my people anything but sheep/ For slaughter, like a terrified cockroach?" (Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri).
And as our poet repeatedly expresses his condemnation of the ruling class that oppresses the nation, as well as the nation that has accepted submission and subservience to this class, he takes the matter to a whole new level in his poem "Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri": "...O nation led by an idol/ Draw near to the mercy of the Judge/ No people have not tasted pain/ But rose from the flames/ Their history... its glories are literature/ Except you, O our Arab history."
In addressing Al-Mutanabbi, he informs him of the deplorable state of the Arab world, speaking of widespread disbelief, of the ongoing war, of the slaves who rule and sway, of the enduring sorrow, of the destruction of all that we have built, while the West continues its renaissance and progress. Al-Baini, in his yearning, looks forward to a great Arab nation, whose lands are undivided by borders or barriers: “Here disbelief reigns/ Here war rages/ Here death is relentless/ (...) Slaves have wreaked havoc on the land/ We live each day/ Our tears are a celebration of sorrow/ We have destroyed what we built/ While the West constructs/ (...) I yearn for a great nation/ Unburdened by barriers/ That fears no borders/ The unity of the land is the border.” ... One final issue remains, in which we reveal the violent stance taken by our poet towards corrupt leaders and rulers, whom he hurled the most vile insults at.
In this context, we may ask: Did these attitudes seep into his poetry, following the example of his mentor, the poet Nizar Qabbani? We may read this testimony from the engineer Rafiq Ghanoum, as he provides us with this incident that he witnessed himself: "...And I may not be revealing a secret if I say: that Nizar Qabbani used to curse the Arab leaders, a thousand times a minute, during his telephone calls with Charbel Baini. And how I felt the despair that swept through every cell of his body and mind, and I immediately understood why he wrote his masterpiece (When Will They Announce the Death of the Arabs?), which caused such a stir!"
D- In calling for coexistence and recognition of the other who is different.
Because the true poet... the one who speaks the truth—not the court poet nor the poet of sultans, regardless of their rank or position—is the one immersed in his humanity and free from the shackles of clan, tribe, sect, and doctrine. All factional and regional considerations fall away for him, and he becomes the voice of truth, pure and untainted, the champion of his fellow human being, raising the banner of universal humanity in place of all the flags that signify groups closed in on themselves!
With these qualities, bordering on puritanical idealism, Charbel appears to us through all his poetry collections and his entire literary output. He is, above all, a human being, and he is the purest Lebanese, who refuses to speak in terms of Christianity or Islam, but rather speaks simply as Lebanese, for he is "a Lebanese, son of a Lebanese!" (See his collection "Maniacs"). Here is our poet, from the standpoint of his humanistic inclination, when he is invited to a Ramadan breakfast by the Iraqi Renaissance Association, he sees Ramadan as his month of fasting, just as it is the month of fasting for Muslims! He seized upon this as a spiritual occasion, lamenting his nation, in whose hearts faith had not taken root, and which had begun to disregard the values of fasting and all other religious rites and Islamic obligations, such as the pilgrimage to the Sacred House and the giving of zakat to the poor and needy: "O Creator of the universe, this is my nation/ Walking against creation and the universe/ This is Arabism, exhausted by its wars/ It has not learned to interpret religions well/ So the sectarian, wolfish tongue/ Howls, and evil becomes like a flood..." And while condemning this fanatical sectarian who does not recognize the other who differs from him in religious belief, he presents a balanced perspective on coexistence, the unity of religions, and the essential unity of faith, hoping that this sectarian will repent and return to the right path: "If you are for piety, then by piety I will overcome Satan, O my Judge / What is the difference between me and those who believe / Their Gospel is for God" Like the Quran!
Thus, our poet approached the thesis of religions from the perspective that "all creation is God's family," that they are all descendants of Adam, and Adam is from dust and to dust he returns!... And the only criterion, the decisive word, remains that the most honourable of people in God's eyes are those who are most beneficial to others: "What is the difference between me and a sincere neighbour/ Who has honoured humanity with humanity/ What is the difference between me and all of creation/ If I do not imitate their language with mine/ If my lineage is the lineage of Adam, woe to them/ How can there be enmity when we are like brothers?"... And, as a culmination of this view open to all of humanity, without differentiating between monotheistic religions, he sees that the "Islamic" month of fasting is his month, indeed his month of fasting, since it originates from a single divine source: "My month... the month of love and piety/ In its light, no two differ/ A month as if God were embodied in it/ This is the testimony of a Christian believer!" (Ramadan.. my month). What a witness, and how powerful this testimony is!
If one thing leads to another—as they say—then one poet might refer us to another, both of whom share the same intellectual fabric, a single philosophy of life, a similar intellectual vision, and a humanistic outlook that unites them on noble principles and value systems, which they practiced in their actions, not merely ink on paper!
Based on this, we see parallels, even to the point of convergence, between the poet of exile and the poet of Tripoli, Saba Zreik (1886-1974). They both belonged to the same region, characterized by coexistence. Saba Zreik was from Tripoli, and Charbel Baini was from Mejdlaya (Zgharta), which lies a stone's throw from Tripoli. There has always been interaction between Tripoli, the capital of northern Lebanon, and the various northern districts, and bonds of brotherhood and exchange on all levels! Saba Zreik, the Orthodox Christian from Tripoli, as I described him in my book "Zreikian Insights between the Poet of Al-Fayhaa, Saba Zreik, and Saba the Grandson" (published in 2016 by the Poet of Al-Fayhaa, Saba Zreik Cultural Foundation), is that poet in whom Christianity and Islam merged, so you do not know which of the two religions to attribute him to!
Drawing upon some examples from my book "The Complete Works of the Poet of Al-Fayhaa, Saba Zreik" (six volumes, 1st edition, 2012), we conclude that the essence of true poetry is singular, and that poets—and thinkers in general—who are not confined by their sects and doctrines, nor beholden to their tribes, clans, and leaders, speak with one voice, uttering words that are beyond reproach, whether from the front, the back, or the rear!
Regarding the recognition of the different other, and regarding the interaction of the Lebanese and all followers of the two religions, Christianity and Islam, from a national perspective, the poet of Al-Fayhaa says: "When will I live while my neighbour does not know whether he is a Muslim or a Christian? When will I see national lineage as a bond stronger than the pillars of Mount (Thahlan)? When will a sect return to the Merciful One, one that reaps only harm through the interpretation of the Gospel and the Quran?!" These verses were commented upon by Dr. Saba Zreik, the grandson (the book takes the form of a dialogue between grandfather and grandson), who addresses his grandfather: “Truly, when will the banners of sectarianism, which flutter proudly among their followers, be lowered, my grandfather? When will the shackles of kinship, or rather, blind sectarian loyalty, be removed from our hearts, and the light of national loyalty prevail? When will minds return to their senses, so that the Bible and the Quran are no longer exploited to incite conflict and strife between the followers of the two sects, when God created us all from dust, and to Him we shall return?”
This commentary, delivered by the grandson, Dr. Saba Zreik, is addressed to Charbel Baini, as both poets (Baini and Zreik) draw from the same fundamental truth of faith! Further elaborating on the poet of Al-Fayha, and confirming the convergence, indeed the convergence, between the two poets through their embrace of the unity of religions, here is what he reveals: "...This is my hand I extend to the Muslims / In the name of the Christians, I sing joyfully / My religion and yours, O monotheist, are one / Is Taha your path, or is the Christian ladder? / I am Jesus, whatever my creed dictates / But, in the law of your love, I am a Muslim?!"
...In the poem " Adib Al-Beaini," our poet delves into the same themes explored by the poet of Al-Fayha, advocating for coexistence based on the premise that we are one people, Christians and Muslims... We worship one God, the Lord of all the worlds! Thus, he addresses Adib Al-Beaini, the “Druze,” as they share a common lineage, which transcends sectarian affiliation: “We are one people, to God we kneel/ All of us in my homeland are beloved neighbours/ No Druze, no Christians, no discord / Ask Islam about us, it may answer/ (...) Ah, son of the Shouf, is my poetry enough for you?/ You are from me; you are my soul… and my kin” (Adib Al-Beaini).
...Charbel Baini, embodies these values, which prioritize humanity regardless of religion, sect, or belief. He would not have embarked on this path had he not been a believer in his Lord, speaking to Him directly, without intermediary, seeking His compassion and favour, and finding in Him the true meaning of his life in this existence: "Have mercy on me, my Lord, for I bow before Your throne, lost in exile... with love and a happy life. I do not seek wealth; my dream is to be enriched by Your mercy. My life without You is a lie. Extend Your hands and embrace me" (Have mercy on me, my Lord).
E- In the two narratives: the glorifying "Cities" narrative and the "occasional" panegyric
Firstly, in the glorifying "Cities" narrative: Ten Arab cities/capitals are addressed by our poet through a style of poetry that deviates from "classical" praise, even though it outwardly resembles this art. Through this style, our poet addresses an "inanimate" place, which is then imbued with life by a human community that contains it, thus pointing to historical and cultural scenes, thereby bestowing life upon the place! And so, we turn to Beirut, which he loves with boundless passion! … Crossing over to Jerusalem, the land of the prophets, the second of the two qiblas and the third of the two holy mosques, to Makkah, the starting point of the Islamic call and the birthplace of the Arab Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), and the site of the Holy Kaaba, the most prominent of the sacred landmarks… To Baghdad (twice), the capital of Harun al-Rashid and the capital of the world in the Middle Ages… To Damascus of the Umayyads, which the poet loved since its inception, and which is the oldest continuously inhabited city in history! … To Dubai, the dream and jewel of cities, to green Tunis, which no lover could ever cherish like him… To Egypt, the mother of the Arabs, with the grandeur of its pyramids and the Nile, which is its gift… To Amman, the jewel of nations. And let Al-Baini follow these cities and capitals with the Chouf region, the cradle of the Baini tribe, scattered among them: Druze, and in Mejdlaya: Maronites… all of them from one family lineage!
This Cities narrative is not unique to Al-Baini. Other contemporary Arab poets have explored this art form, such as Said Akl, who sang of Makkah and its noble inhabitants, as well as of Jerusalem, the City of Flowers, and Damascus, in several of his most beautiful poems, extending his themes to other Arab countries and capitals. Not to mention Badr Shakir al-Sayyab, who created his masterpiece "Tammuz Jaykur," which was not merely an immersion in the geography of his birthplace, but a fire that ignited within him the day he left it, to be embraced by the desolate paths of exile. It was a renewed birth of his beloved village within him.
It should be noted that Al-Baini’s narrative in (Star of Poetry) is the second of two such narratives. Our poet has gifted us with another in his collection (I Love You), where he takes his "virtual" beloved on a Sindbad-like journey, traversing with her global capitals in Europe and North and South America. Africa, along with Australia and Lebanon, introduced us to remarkable landmarks through this journey, pausing at many of its cultural and architectural scenes... Al-Baini has taken the capitals and countries of his narratives, especially the narrative of the collection we are discussing, "Star of Poetry," as beloveds into whom he has breathed his own spirit, adding them to his human beloveds, whether imaginary or real! This overwhelming love is evident in the fervent emotion he bestows upon these capitals/countries, not to mention the rich vocabulary and expressions of love!
Perhaps what drove our poet to become attached to cities/capitals, regardless of their geography, is that "in the life of every poet there is a city (or several cities) in which he dreams of residing, both physically and linguistically... physically, as a human being, in a geographically or geometrically defined space... linguistically, through writing." Poetics, where the poet, through the poem, seeks to make the city a dream he experiences and lives. Indeed, the poet "dreams of the city, just as he dreams of a fleeting, mercurial, gelatinous woman (through) the retrospective memory of the dream, as a path to the act of poetic writing, open to questioning, anxiety, and bewilderment."
...Based on the above, and in reviewing the cities/capitals that Charbel Baini glorified, we see that he possesses the power to capture the poetics of places with a discerning eye and a fertile imagination, establishing his own creative language by blending the fervour of the poem, in its initial brilliance, with the language of the dreamlike place, in a secondary sense. It is a visual language; whatever he employs overflows with music, fascination, hope, and desire. Here are some details:
In the poem "Beirut," the poet calls upon it to express its love for him, for distance torments him. He calls upon it to embrace him and rescue him from his wandering, especially since Her face was his constant destination, indeed, she was his poem, ever since he learned to speak: "Beirut, O Beirut, do not hesitate/ Say: I love you... so that my tomorrow may embrace me/ (...) I spent my life like the wind, a wanderer/ But your face was always my destination/ You promised me!... I still await the meeting/ And my soul yearns to embrace the North Star/ (...) Since I learned to speak, you have been my destination/ (...) All cities have lost their address/ Except you, O Beirut, O tattoo of the hand."
And as for Jerusalem, she is his hope, indeed the healing balm if affliction befalls him... He is enamoured with her, with the Flower of Cities, and suffers in his love the torment of longing...: "Ah, O melody of the pure heart / I am enamoured with you, and in my breast is torment / (...) I have wiped the tears from my cheeks so that / You will not say that I love to weep / I am the son of Jerusalem, who is like me?" "Great people sing my praises."
And as he comes to Makkah with his heart as his dwelling place, he invites it to make his heart its dwelling place, and he will not leave it, to draw from it some of its sanctity: "...No sooner had I prostrated upon the land of the Chosen One/Truly, life flourished and joy flowed/ (...) Come, dwell, O Qibla, in our hearts/Who said I would distance myself from you, O House of Guidance/No, I will not distance myself, I will remain here."
As for Damascus, the city of glory and pride, it is for him love and splendour, Damascus of roses and basil. His heart has been attached to it since its existence, and he became one drowning in the sea of its love. May it remain his beautiful dream and the stars that illuminate the darkness of the nights: "O Damascus... I have loved no other homeland/ Whose inhabitants are glories, if they could speak/ (...) You are the white stars in the twilight / Were it not for you, the twilight would not clear/ And the sun is you, Damascus, my country/ Who said that the sun burns?/ The sea is your love, and I am the beloved/ And how often I drowned, and drowning spared me."
And about Rabat, it was the love of his heart. He extended his hand to it so that this love might be inscribed upon it: "I told her a secret: My eyes might betray me/ This Rabat is the love of a passionate heart/ (...) I loved your name, and the letters are witnesses/ I extended my hand so that you might inscribe it."
As for Dubai, it was the city he loved and called his homeland, and to it his ships' sails turned: "This emirate is one of our masterpieces/ I loved it, I named it my homeland/ (...) The waves are raging, and I am the sail/ Who else but her do my ships yearn for?/ (...) You are the star, and you are our qibla/ So look upon me, O pearl of cities."
Green Tunis, he entrusted his heart to it, and so he became Tunisian, to it he belonged, and no lover will love it as our poet loved it: "You are the princess and the desire/ And the throne is my heart... So, sit/ No lover will love you/ Like me... For this my wedding ring."
And as for Baghdad, it is the poet's beloved, since time immemorial, and it was created only for him. He loved its face, and she wept for his love, a tale told: "Baghdad, you are my beloved, do not be ashamed/ Since existence, you were created, O Baghdad, for me/ I loved your face... and love is a tale/ Like blood, it flowed through my joints/ I will never forget the day I came to you in love/ And my streams danced near the Euphrates/ (...) I believe in a wonderful verse:/ Love is only for the first beloved" (Baghdad).
And as for Egypt—the mother, where he left his heart—he began to weep for her, and his tears flowed into the Nile: "If the pyramids could speak of pure love/ You would know that my heart did not leave with me/ (...) Here I have poured love into the perfume of a poem/ So revel in love and then be pampered/ (...) All the nightingales in your lands sang/ And the universe listens in all directions The four."
And about Amman (Jordan), it is the most beautiful name on our poet's lips, its people his people: "...Tell me... I am coming to cities/ I loved... I entrusted them with my values/ I am coming to Amman from my weariness/ Say: Welcome... O jewel of nations."
As for Mazraat El Chouf—outside the realm of cities/capitals—the cradle of the "Baini family," its verdant lands are his farm, and it is the farm that bestowed upon our poet his family name, thus: "I am in love with the Baini’s forever/ I entrusted to it the sanctity of my soil/ O Mejdlaya... record my joy/ For it alone my hat has never been raised!"
Secondly—in the narrative of panegyric figures:
In this narrative, which complements the previous one, our poet addresses figures and personalities, distributed across different eras, some still among the living, and others who have passed away... and each of these two groups has its place and role in its environment, leaving a clear mark. From the fighter against French colonialism (Sultan al-Atrash), to the fighter against the Zionist enemy usurping the land of Palestine (the young Ahed Tamimi), to the two activists who dedicated their lives and efforts to raising generations in Australia (the nuns Constance El Bacha and Madeleine Abu Rjeily), to the Lebanese and international philosopher whose book, The Prophet, became like a second gospel (Kahlil Gibran), to the Lebanese writer and philosopher (the poet Said Akl), to the great Iraqi scholar (Father Youssef Jazrawi)... to a constellation of the greatest poets, ancient and modern... from the giant of Arabic poetry of all ages (Abu al-Tayyib al-Mutanabbi), to one of the greatest creative Arab poets (Abdul Wahab al-Bayati), to the last of the giants of classical poetry (Muhammad Mahdi al-Jawahiri), to a poet from the land of the Nile, generations in Sydney have sung their praises. His rhymes (Rifaat Obeid), to an Iraqi poet, who bestowed glory upon the letters (Ahmed Al-Yasiri), and to three patrons of spoken poetry, who excelled in the art of zajal (Mr. George Abu Antoun, Elias Khalil and Antoun Saade), to the genius of Lebanese zajal, in content and angelic voice (Zaghloul Al-Damour) ... and to the literary relative, from Doha “Al-Baini” (Adib Al-Beaini).
To a select group of artists who have dominated the Arab art scene and rendered invaluable services to authentic and refined art... from the immortal singer, the daughter of Jabal al-Arab (Asmahan), to the revolutionary singer whose songs resonated throughout the Arab world and on stages around the globe (Marcel Khalife), to the brilliant Egyptian musician with a diamond-like touch (Magdi Boulos), and to the Egyptian artist who has excelled in the field of instrumental performance and music (Magdi El-Husseini).
... Undoubtedly, delving into the details of each of these figures, who have left indelible marks on the annals of Arab memory in the realms of political struggle, intellectual, literary, poetic, and artistic endeavours, would require filling dozens of pages, a task far beyond the scope of this brief overview. Even a few examples from this narrative would fall short and may not satisfy the thirst for further exploration! Here, we have limited ourselves to a brief introduction, leaving the reader to return to "The Diwan" (collection of poems). For there is a vast difference between one who goes to the sea to drink his fill and one who is content with mere drops that do not quench his thirst!
...There is a matter concerning the two aforementioned narratives that we cannot ignore. Some short-sighted critics might categorize them as panegyrics, seeking to diminish their literary value, arguing that this art form developed and flourished in the courts, acquiring a profit-driven character! These critics have failed to grasp the profound existential dimension of the art to which these narratives belong! To glorify a city or capital is to do so from the perspective of its historical, civilizational, and cultural significance. And to glorify a person is not for their own sake, but for the role they played in serving and enriching thought, in serving their homeland and nation, and indeed, in serving all of humanity!
In expressive discourse... increase our love for your eloquent language!
"This is how poetry places you in the spaces of this world, gives you the keys to every home, and makes you a note in the rhythm of the universe!"... This is the statement—the testimony—contained in the second letter that the poet Nizar Qabbani sent to his friend Charbel Baini (January 31, 1994), the day after he was honoured (Qabbani's honour, as mentioned earlier) and won the Gibran International Prize. In it, he praised our poet's role, especially his speech at that momentous ceremony. It's worth noting that Nizar had written in his first letter (December 1, 1993), in praise of those honouring him at the same ceremony: "...Arab creators expect their recognition to come from the desert... but it comes from the sea, for the sea knows when to offer pearls, coral, and blue poems."
As much as these two phrases express gratitude and appreciation for this gesture, they also represent a testament, indeed an acknowledgment, of the importance of the Arab literary movement within the Australian diaspora in general, and a recognition of the role played by Charbel Baini in this movement, at the forefront, thus undisputedly deserving the title of "Poet of Exile"!
This lofty literary stature that Baini attained was achieved through two paths: through poetry in his Lebanese dialect, and through poetry in classical Arabic. One is left wondering, upon examining his dozens of collections, which was more prominent, not to mention his prose works in the various literary genres he explored. All of this was accomplished with unparalleled patience and perseverance, as if he were carving his poetic mountain with a needle, climbing ever higher until he reached its summit! In this regard, we have no one but his late friend, the engineer Rafiq Ghanoum, who accurately diagnosed our poet's resilience and defiance: "...He does not easily succumb to difficulties. From this, we can also understand the secret of his superiority over others, the secret of his control over matters, and the secret of his constant triumph over all who attack him. He is forthright in his expression, planning for failure as well as success! This is why he has remained successful all this time, while his detractors continue to pant, clinging to his coattails, even for a few fleeting seconds, in vain!"
Undoubtedly, the success that Al-Baini achieved, especially in the realm of poetry, is due to numerous reasons, among them, indeed foremost, the timeliness of the themes he addressed, which are included in all his collections. He turned to the issues closely tied to the concerns of his homeland and people, to the affairs and anxieties of the nation, and in every one of these matters, he had a significant say—and what a profound contribution it was!
In addition to this fundamental factor, the expressive discourse into which he poured his meaning had a profound impact on elevating his literary output, both poetry and prose. This output enjoyed a continuous flow, both in exile and in the Arab world, where our poet forged close relationships with leading poets and literary giants in the Arab East. He was—if one may say so—an extraordinary literary ambassador for the Arabs in the Australian diaspora, and his home became a destination for every writer coming to him from the East!
...And as we turned our attention to his books, which we have examined, from his collection "I Love You" to his collection "Maniacs," and then to the book by Dr. Bahia Abu Hamad, on the literature of our poet, "Charbel Baini, a beacon of letters"... As we have examined, in these three books, his expressive discourse oscillating between colloquial and classical Arabic, in "Najmat al-Shi'r" (Star of Poetry), which he dedicated to classical Arabic, we will explore the discourse of classical Arabic in terms of its foundations and distinguishing features, which makes him one of the "Nizari poets"—an honour he claims!—for our poet has always looked to his "teacher," indeed one of his great inspirations, who took his hand to guide him on the path of permissible poetry, and was the best example!
...In our examination of Baini's poetic language, the following features stand out:
Firstly, his language became the womb within which he fortified himself—not out of isolation, but out of fear that elements of corruption might seep in. From its alphabet, he began to weave those creative poems! And since language became his homeland, it represented a shift for him, through a complex and creative process, from language as homeland, to language as womb, to language as generative… and finally to language as poetry!
…It is that merging between the body of the poem—as an expressive discourse—with all the beauty it contains, and the discourse of meanings, the hidden depths of this living body. Each discourse bestows upon its counterpart its own elements of strength and splendour, so that it is impossible to discern which discourse is superior to its counterpart, and which is dependent upon the other! Thus, in "Star of Poetry," the discourse of meaning and the discourse of form proceed in tandem, side by side, even intertwining, as in most of the collections he composed in classical Arabic, reminiscent of Nizar Qabbani's style!
...as evidence of this elevation of meaning, where language and expression align with the highest levels of expression...and all of this from "Star of Poetry" is for us to read and reflect upon! — "It will not be said that the cat has become a lion/ Even if it struts in the skin of a lion/ How many a noble man I thought an example/ Was a wolf behind a locked door/ If you strip a woman's body/ You will not see in it the beauty of the body!" (Star of Poetry).
- To the successive wisdoms that abound in these three verses, which our poet presents for consideration... to the beauty, ease, and delicacy of expression, as well as the magnificent rhythm of the Madid meter (fa'ilatun fa'ilun fa'ilatun)—a counterpart to the Ramal meter—all of this proves, beyond any doubt, that Al-Baini surpasses himself in meaning, just as he surpasses the poetic language of the most eloquent writers of classical Arabic!
- As another example, or rather two, in the poems "To My Mother" and "A Mother's Prayer," they are no less expressive and profound in meaning, supported by a captivating language that is the best that can be said about those two situations of a mother grieving the departure of her sons from their homeland, so that the world darkens before her eyes and her soul is shrouded in gloom... to that fluidity that we have often marvelled at, which has become Al-Baini's exclusive trademark! Secondly, in "Star of Poetry," our poet demonstrates a profound mastery of the Arabic language, wielding it with complete control. It is noteworthy that his long period of residence in Australia, spanning fifty-two years to date, has not negatively impacted the purity of his classical Arabic, the quality of his expression, or the strength of his composition. His years of teaching at the "Our Lady of Lebanon School in Sydney" likely kept him in daily contact with his mother tongue and contributed to its development, based on the principle that language is strengthened through practice and consistent use. Furthermore, our poet demonstrates a mastery of prosody, a matter we have highlighted and discussed in detail in our review of his collection "I Love You." He also possesses a deep understanding of rhetoric, eloquence, and figures of speech, resulting in forty-four poems, among his finest works, most of which exude the most refined themes, delicate expressions, and exquisite beauty. Thirdly, our poet's psychological makeup clearly influenced his expressive style. A review of his first poetry collection, "Adolescence" (1968), written when he was seventeen, reveals a "violent" tendency that gripped him, which he unleashed in poems belonging to the genre of erotic, lustful, and even licentious love poetry!
The writer Michel Houdaid, who wrote the introduction to "Adolescence," observed this characteristic, stating: "In my view, Charbel's poetry remains mere chatter once we strip it of its unbridled, fiery revolutionary fervour!" Houdaid dwelt at length on this erotic tendency in our poet.
From another perspective, we see that our poet, by adopting the Zgharta character, embodies it through a quick temper and impulsive reactions. This drives him to violent stances, especially in confrontations with corrupt leaders and the political class. Another equally important explanation is that his violence is the cry of the displaced, living under the oppression of exile, an oppression that never leaves him, but rather consumes him daily. All of this—in addition to his Nizar-Esque approach, which manifests in his impulsive and violent stances outside his love poems—is reflected in his language. For language, to a large extent, is imprinted on the state of the soul; indeed, it is its faithful voice.
This poet, if we wish to characterize him, is Nizar-Esque in his approach, a Gibran-Esque in his revolution!
With all this "Nizar-Gibranian" revolution, our poet—like his mentor Nizar—melts and his language melts with such tenderness that it almost bursts, based on the principle that every situation calls for its own expression. And there are many examples that can be drawn and emulated from this collection!
Fourthly, regarding the innovative imagery and unprecedented scenes, there is no need to elaborate on the poet's brilliance. He possesses an extraordinary ability to conjure images and expressions uncommon among many poets, indicating a creative imagination available only to those blessed with exceptional clarity of vision and broad culture, enabling him to feel images (that is, to write poetry in images)! It is as if every verse or group of verses in his poetry is a painting, added to the other paintings of the poem, and sometimes we find ourselves before a gallery of harmonious images, arranged side by side, in a scene or scenes of profound expression! In our exploration of this collection of pictorial/scenic creativity, we choose these exemplary examples:
- “In the hills of Lebanon, I tamed the horizon / After my snows traced my roses” (Star of Poetry) ... The snow is what marks his journey, through the tread of his feet upon it, crossing to his homeland to tame the horizon! And the horizon is metaphorical, impossible to grasp, so how can it be tamed? Ask Charbel Baini and his fellow creative artists, and they will tell you what they do in this regard!
- Regarding his meeting with Beirut, which he eagerly awaits, let us contemplate this poetic image that transcends the sensory meaning: “My fingers yearn to touch the stars / Will our first rendezvous be in space?” (Beirut)... Does our poet wish to ascend with his beloved to the heavens to arrange this promised meeting, and to be close to the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary?! "All cities have lost their address / Except you, Beirut, the tattoo on my hand" (Beirut). Is there a more expressive image that can embody our poet's connection to the capital of his homeland, Beirut, the mother of the world, as he places it like a tattoo on his hand, a constant companion, as irrefutable proof of his love for this city?
And from this exquisite scene, imbued with "consideration of parallelism"—a form of figurative language—presenting us with a collection of images that complement each other, culminating in the intended and most expressive meaning: "The waves are raging, and I am the sail / Without her, my ships yearn" (Dubai).
And how beautiful is this image, when Baghdad flows through the poet's veins as he tells us the tale of his love for the capital of Harun al-Rashid—a tale from the realm of legends: "I loved your face... and love is a tale / Like blood flowing through my joints" (Baghdad), etc.
...And yet... after all that has been said and all that may yet be said... our poet, Al-Baini, remains one of the guardians of classical Arabic poetry in the Australian diaspora, and one of the staunch defenders of the Arabic language, as well as one of the pillars of the Lebanese vernacular, imbued with its diverse folk traditions! Whether he writes in the vernacular or in classical Arabic, he is a master of both languages. He is a poet of purpose; his poetry is committed and purposeful, without ideology, and he carries it to the very end, bearing the burden of his homeland and his nation! And while he may have reached great heights in his eloquent Arabic, his preservation of his "local" identity—indeed, the bonds that connect him to his homeland, Lebanon, and his people—is a credit to him, not a detriment. For "he who denies his origins has no origins!" The greatest writers are those who have maintained this "national" local identity, even if they spent a significant portion of their lives in foreign lands.
...If there is anything that adorns "Star of Poetry" and lends it some splendour, it is the creativity of the visual artist Randa Baini, who designed the cover illustration and, with her beautiful hands, incorporated twelve drawings between the pages of the collection, inspired by both printed and man-made nature. Perhaps the last drawing, according to our humble artistic experience, belongs to the realm of calligraphic art.
Thus, the collection emerges, purely "visual": poems and illustrations, on a back cover featuring one of the elders of the "Baini’s" community, our poet's mother—may God have mercy on her—overflowing with joy as she shares in the happiness of Charbel, who holds in his hand an Honourary shield, one of the first he received in his triumphant literary career!
**
Footnotes:
* A collection of poems in classical Arabic by the poet Charbel Baini, featuring selected poems from some of his other works. Cover and interior illustrations by the artist Randa Baini. Published in Sydney, Australia, 2020.
[1] - See the book "The Most Beautiful Poems of Charbel Baini" by the late engineer Rafiq Ghanoum, published on Charbel Baini's Facebook page, commemorating the 22nd anniversary of the passing of the poet Nizar Qabbani (accessed May 2, 2020).
[2] - "The Most Beautiful Poems of Charbel Baini," ibid. (published in "Leila" magazine, Sydney, Issue 33, July 1998, and reposted from Charbel Baini's Facebook page - accessed May 2, 2020).
[3] See Huda al-Sabbagh, an interview published in Al-Bairak newspaper (Australia), 1986, issue 4, quoted from the book by Engineer Rafiq Ghanoum, "The Most Beautiful Things Said About Charbel Baini 's Literature."
[4] See Jamil al-Duwayhi, "Lebanese Folk Poetry: An Overview," (Minbar Okaz), (Farah News Online website: accessed May 5, 2020).
[5] Muhammad Ali Shams al-Din, from his review of the book "Prominent Figures of Colloquial Poetry in Lebanon" by Dr. Michel Khalil Juha, entitled "Lebanese Colloquial Poetry There, Where the Fingers of Life Ruffle," (on Shams al-Din's Facebook page, accessed May 6, 2020).
[6] Maroun Abboud, "Colloquial Poetry," Maroun Abboud Publishing House, Beirut, 1960, p. 63 (quoted from the aforementioned page of Muhammad Ali Shams al-Din).
[7] See Lotfi Haddad, "Reflections on Contemporary Arab Diaspora Literature," on the Syrian story website (accessed May 2, 2020).
[8] See "The Most Beautiful Things Said About Charbel Baini's Literature," op. cit.
[9] See Mostapha Helwe, "Zariqian Comparisons Between the Poet of al-Fayha' Saba Zreik and Saba the Grandson," published by the "Poet of al-Fayha' Saba Zreik Cultural Foundation," 2016, p. 95.
[10] See "The Complete Works of the Poet of al-Fayha' Saba Zreik," 1st edition, 2012, no publisher stated, edited by Dr. Saba Qaysar Zreik, Part 2, pp. 96-98.
[11] See Mohamedou Lahbib, “Jikour… A Village That Sprouts from Al-Sayyab’s Wound,” an article on the “Gulf Cultural Forum” website (khaleej.ae), accessed May 6, 2020.
[12] See Mounsef Al-Wahibi, “The Poetics of Glorifying the Rhetoric of Cities,” (Nizwa Magazine website, 2009, De nizwa.com, accessed April 30, 2020).
[13] See the two letters published in Leila Magazine (Australia), Issue 33, July 1998.
[14] See Rafiq Ghanoum, op. cit.
**
