Abdelwahab Meddeb 1946–
tunis, tunisia
A
poet, novelist, essayist, and translator, Meddeb writes in French and
has translated many Arabic texts, with special emphasis on Sufist
work. He left Tunisia to study French, art, and history at the Sorbonne.From 1974 to 1988 he served as literary adviser to Éditions Sindbad. From 1988 to
1991 he directed the journal Intersignes and served as its Arabic translator. Med-
deb has also worked as a consultant at UNESCO and as a visiting professor at the
University of Geneva, Yale University, and the Sorbonne. He currently lives in
Paris. Principal works: Talismano, 1979, 1987; Phantasia, 1986; Tombeau d’Ibn
Arabi, 1987; Les Dits de Bistami, 1989; La Gazelle et l’enfant, 1992.
On Forgotten Tracks
On forgotten tracks, in unnamed places, I see the chorus of mourners, on the
south banks, I look at homes in ruin, in the cool morning, I admire her, who
wears the mask of pain, the dead cross the black footbridge, and pluck the fruits
of silence, the rain crisscrosses the grey light, I said, yes, I’ll come, without ruse,
or shield, that’s how I replied, to her who spoke, with a cut heart, hunted,
without cover, on the plain, the four winds brought contradictory messages, she
says, I will divide myself, I will be new, like the sun, each day.
—charlotte mandell
I Take the Path
I take the path, that leads to the garden of error, I play with names, behind the
grove of truth, I drink where the child gathers up his dice, I hide in the thicket,
where the gazelle trembles, the wolf drowns the shepherd’s song, a breeze dusts
my body, in the black day, the downpour fills the lake, that separates the two
countries, in a Sumerian goblet I drink a wine preserved, in an atmosphere of
clay, buried underground, for millennia, the ancient goblet, fossil from paradise,
gives o√ a breath, that I scent as mortal.
—charlotte mandell