Few years before the revolution, free verse poetry was perceived in Egypt as a sign of change in the poetic atmosphere. I once heard the late Egyptian poet Hilmy Salem capture this change eloquently when he said: “While “taf’ila poetry” has the constitutional legitimacy in Egypt right now, free verse poetry enjoys the revolutionary legitimacy.” Free verse poetry generated a lot of noise back then as conferences and alternative conferences were held to discuss free verse poetry and its alternative forms. This noise was foreign to a form of poetry that has long celebrated whispering, but taking pride in whispering was weird, too.
English
Between Whispers and Artillery
Few years before the revolution, free verse poetry was perceived in Egypt as a sign of change in the poetic atmosphere. I once heard the late Egyptian poet Hilmy Salem capture this change eloquently when he said: “While “taf’ila poetry” has the constitutional legitimacy in Egypt right now, free verse poetry enjoys the
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