"THE QUEEN WHO SERVES THE SLAVES": FROM POLITICS TO METAPOETICS IN THE POETRY OF QĀSIM HADDĀD

Abstract

AbstractThe following article deals with the poetry of the Bahraini poet Qāsim Haddād, one of the most prominent modernist Arab poets of our time. One of Haddād's main characteristics in his habit of recurrently changing his poetic style and poetic themes over the years, and this article seeks to highlight the significant transformations Haddād's poetry underwent during his career. The article argues that one of the most important transformations is the shift Haddād made from leftist committed poetry in the 1970s toward a highly modernist poetics in the 1980s and 90s. Influenced by Adonis, the key figure among Arab modernist poets, Haddād tends to reflect upon meta-poetic themes in his later poetic works—themes such as the exploration of the creative process, the poem as a creator of a new world, the innate gap between language and the poet's personal and poetic experience, etc. Haddād tackles these themes by using an innovative poetic style and a low-key tone, and succeeds in drawing the reader's attention to the complexity and the poignancy of his poetry.