09 October 2012

NIRVANA PARK

NIRVANA PARK  
© Farouk Asvat 

Azaan calls five times a day
Turtle doves coor-coor on the zinc roofs
And you can hear the crunch
Of a hand crushed by a shoe.

White mansions
Serene in the sun
Ooze sweat from their pores
And mielies grow quietly in the backyard
While tears drop like dew without pain
And the trees over the front lawn
Drip blood like blossoms
Falling in the night

© farouk asvat

composed: 1985 [johannesburg, south africa under #apartheid ]
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[§] Books by Farouk Asvat:

● Sadness In The House Of Love (novel)
● The Gathering Of The Storm (novel)
● I Dream In Long Sentences (poetry)
● The Wind Still Sings Sad Songs (poetry)
● A Celebration Of Flames (poetry)
● The Time Of Our Lives (poetry)
● This Masquerade (short stories)
● Bra Frooks … (poetry)*
● The Paanies Are Coming (short stories)*
● In The House Of Love (novel)*
● Weapons Of Words (literary criticism)

¨ all my books are now available on amazon: in paperback & kindle

■ Buy the paperback and get the kindle edition FREE!
___________________________________________________________________________    
¨ A CELEBRATION OF FLAMES by FAROUK ASVAT
               § WINNER OF THE VITA AWARD

""A Celebration of Flames" is a powerful, impassioned call. The sanity and courage of this collection arises from the poet's unique experiential perceptions of his milieu, making him one of the few who can write about these traumatic times with such lucidity and lyricism. The strength of Farouk Asvat's poetry lies in the way he intertwines the complex elements of social and political conflicts with intense personal relationships. The wide tonal range extends from sensual and delicate insights into the nature of passion to the satiric and humorous use of slang."
● Vita Award citation

"Like hesitating snowflakes his words are fascinating in their capricious wilfulness - like unexpected strokes of a whip."
● Susanne Baackmann, University Of Albuquerque, USA

"His love poetry soars with an intense sensitivity, it celebrates lyrically the joys of a most exquisite sensuousness."
● Marcia Leveson, University Of The Witwatersrand, The Indicator

""A Celebration of Flames" (is) a powerful, impassioned call.  I admire the sanity and courage of this.  Your position and perception make you one of the few who can write on this subject without obscenity."
● Lionel Abrahams, editor Purple Renoster & Sesame

"The legend of poet extraordinaire Farouk Asvat: - like vintage wine, proper poetry matures with time, and like vintage art the voice and wisdom of a poet worth the name is timeless."
● Mphutlane wa Bofelo, kagablog

"you almost catch your breath at some of the stanzas - you can re-read it several times and be struck by new ideas, metaphors, elegiac surprises, and the heartfelt poignancy "
● Aggrey Klaaste, editor Sowetan

"Out of an angry silence, a polished poet is born."
● Anton Harber, editor Weekly Mail
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● NIRVANA PARK 

     Dutch translation by © Irene Scheltes

Azaan belt vijfmaal per dag
Tortelduiven roekoe-en op 't dak
En je kunt het knarsen horen
Van een hand gekraakt door een schoen.

Van witte villa's sereen in de zon
Sijpelt het zweet door de poriën
Op het erf groeien heimelijk mielies
Terwijl tranen als dauw pijnloos druppen,
En de bomen op het gras in de voortuin
Druipen van bloed als bloesems
Vallend in de nacht

     Dutch translation by kind permission of © Irene Scheltes 
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● ΝΙΡΒΑΝΑ ΠΑΡΚΟ

     Greek translation by © Paulos Ioannou 

Ο Αζάαν καλεί πέντε φορές την ημέρα
Τρυγόνια γου-γου στις ψευδάργυρες στέγες
Και μπορείς να ακούσεις το τρίξιμο
Του  χεριού που τσακίστηκε από ένα παπούτσι.

Λευκές επαύλεις
Γαλήνιες στον ήλιο
Ξεχύνουν ιδρώτα από τους πόρους τους
Και ο αραβόσιτος μεγαλώνει ήσυχα στην πίσω αυλή
Ενώ τα δάκρυα πέφτουν σαν δροσιά χωρίς πόνο
Και τα δέντρα εκεί στην μπροστινή αυλή
Στάζουν αίμα σαν άνθη
Που πέφτουν τη νύχτα

     Greek translation by kind permission of © Paulos Ioannou 
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[] acknowledgements:
Nirvana Park was previously published in:
A Celebration Of Flames (donker, p28, 1987);
Dokumente Texte und Tendenzen VIII (evangelische akademie, germany, p106, 1987);
A Celebration of Flames (Heller Fund, UC Berkeley, California, p22, 1988);
Nirvana Park: Dutch translation by Irene Scheltes (1989);
ΝΙΡΒΑΝΑ ΠΑΡΚΟ: Greek translation by (2022);
A Celebration Of Flames (piquant publications, p30, 2007);
 Celebration Of Flames (kindle, 2014);
A Celebration Of Flames (amazon paperback, p34, 2014).
___________________________________________________________________________    
© farouk asvat.  All rights reserved.
Farouk Asvat asserts his moral right to be identified as the author of this work.
No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, or transmitted in any form or any means whatsoever, mechanical or electronic, including recording, printing, photocopying, or via any computerised means or media, including the internet.  This publication shall also not be stored in a retrieval system.  And the writing shall not be sold, lent, hired, resold or circulated in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published,
without the prior permission of the author in writing.
Permission to publish or reproduce the writings in any format can be obtained from the author.
Reproduction of this work without permission, except for scholarly & nonprofit purposes,
is liable to a payment of 10,000 yuan (ren men bi) or US$1,500.

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the NOVEL Sadness In The House Of Love by Farouk Asvat
is now available on amazon: in paperback @ $20 & kindle @ only $5
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#love #literature #fiction #novel #poetry #southafrica #apartheid #books #classics
#faroukasvat #weapons #of #words #comparative #literature #literary #criticism
#a #celebration #of #flames #nirvana #park


● BE A REVOLUTIONARY!

"Remember that the highest rank that the human species can reach is to be a revolutionary."
● Ernesto (Ché) Guevara

"Always be a poet, even in prose."
● Charles Baudelaire

"Read ten thousand books, and your pen will be guided as if by the gods."
● Ancient Chinese Proverb

#liberate #palestine
#stop #massacres
#stop #genocide

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