A morning spent reading poetry of the world

Over two dozen people of all age groups attend PANA’s poetry and literature breakfast.

ISLAMABAD:

Coming just a couple of days after Norway suffered from its worst-ever terrorist attack, the mood at the Pakistani-Norwegian Association’s (PANA) poetry and literature breakfast reading was expectedly sombre.

However, Sunday’s reading at the Serena Hotel picked up soon after breakfast, as social scientist Atle Hetland, presiding over the informal setting as the master of ceremonies, announced the start of the poetry reading.

Australian-Pakistani Poet Jocelyn Ortt Saeed was the first to recite a poem, but not until she stated the impact that the horrible scenes in Norway had on her. “What I read in the paper made me want to rip my heart out.”

Later, the participants read works in various languages, including Greek, Farsi, Norwegian, and Urdu.

These included some of the works of Greek poets CP Cavafy, Nobel laureates Giorgos Seferis and Odysseas Elytis and Yiannis Ritsos, Persian poets Saadi and Hafez and Urdu-Farsi poet Ghalib.

Sadly, all good things come to an end, especially when they go on for two hours longer than scheduled. However, no one was complaining as the charm of the verses kept everyone captivated in the morning’s tour of classical literature.

It was a great experience for the two dozen or so people there, ranging from an A’ levels student up to a few retired people.

According to Spanish Nobel laureate Juan Ramon Jimenez, “Literature is a state of culture, poetry is a state of grace, before and after culture.”

Being immersed in the various cultures helped create a sense of shared and unique identity. Unfortunately, due to the time constraint, one of Atle Hetland’s points during his opening address stood out as a prophetic vision. “It’s good to travel, but it’s better to stop to learn.”

Others in attendance included Katherine Abbasi, Major (retd) Gulzar Wazir, Babar Kamal, Amir Warraich, educationist Dr Ayesha Leghari, Nawaz Kharal, education consultant Susan Stires, Idrees Ashraf, Maryam Ghazan of Unicef, and Zia Ahmed Khan.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th,  2011.