"A reason I like Ali so much is because he brings a heightened level of cultural analysis to his political writing, citing the importance of poetics in the Arab imagination and political discourse. He is fond of the Iraqi poet Saadi Youseff, who published this in 2003 as the invasion of Iraq unfolded.
from America, America
by Saadi Youssef
I too love jeans and jazz and Treasure Island
and John Silver's parrot and the balconies of New Orleans.
I love Mark Twain and the Mississippi steamboats and Abraham Lincoln's dogs.
I love the fields of wheat and corn and the smell of Virginia tobacco.
But I am not American.
Is that enough for the Phantom pilot to turn me back to the stone age?"
from America, America
by Saadi Youssef
I too love jeans and jazz and Treasure Island
and John Silver's parrot and the balconies of New Orleans.
I love Mark Twain and the Mississippi steamboats and Abraham Lincoln's dogs.
I love the fields of wheat and corn and the smell of Virginia tobacco.
But I am not American.
Is that enough for the Phantom pilot to turn me back to the stone age?"
Terry Simons has a fine blog going. Check it out.
No comments:
Post a Comment