aslisjournal

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Asli Hersi

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“I wonder–is anyone here A stranger as forlorn as I ? His heart wounded, his eyes tearful– A stranger as forlorn as I ?”

— yunus emree

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a beautiful poem by Qays ibn al-Mulawwah, also know as “Majnun” which means ‘Madman’ in arabic. This love story (Virgin love) is one of the famous stories in the arabic culture and inspired many artists:

Gara Garayev compsed a symphony by the same name “Leyli & Mejnun”

Eric Clapton Album “Layla” is also inspired from this love story.

and many others…

The Story of Majnun and Layla:

Qays fell in love with Layla. He soon began composing poems about his love for her, mentioning her name often. His unself-conscious efforts to woo the girl caused some locals to call him Majnun (madman). When he asked for her hand in marriage, her father refused as it would be a scandal for Layla to marry someone considered mentally unbalanced. Soon after, Layla was married to another man.

When Majnun heard of her marriage, he fled the tribe camp and began wandering the surrounding desert. His family eventually gave up hope for his return and left food for him in the wilderness. He could sometimes be seen reciting poetry to himself or writing in the sand with a stick.

Layla is generally depicted as having moved to a place northern Arabia with her husband, where she became ill and eventually died. In some versions, Layla dies of heartbreak from not being able to see her would-be lover. Majnun was later found dead in the wilderness in 688 AD, near Layla’s grave. He had carved three verses of poetry on a rock near the grave, which are the last three verses attributed to him.

Many other minor incidents happened between his madness and his death. Most of his recorded poetry was composed before his descent into madness. [read more]

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I miss writing 😢

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Salawaat, Istighfar, and Surah Ali-Imran

In my latest blog post I gave a life update, and shared some reflections I learned about myself during this season of my life

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Asli Hersi, I want to go to another planet

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What am I, in all that is happening? And where are my wishes and dreams? Asli Hersi

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i know twitter screenshots are mostly cursed things on this website, especially these days, but I just want everyone on tumblr to see the Twitter post where everyone translated Dr. Refaat Alareer's poem "If I must die" into different languages. Genuinely the most touching thing the internet has given us in a while.

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what poetry books are you guys reading right now?

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Asli Hersi, “Somedays I cannot Think”

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If how my qadr appears in this moment is displeasing to you, you should speak to the one who wrote it, not the one who is following it And be gentle with your words, for if something about one’s life is displeasing to your eyes, surely it’s a pain for theirs 

Asli Hersi

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Excerpt from, “On a Summer Night” Asli Hersi

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I think every non-western artist has wrestled with this thought at some point, but translating my art to be digestible to a western audience is not a goal I have, not even in my periphery. If people come across my work and relate and enjoy it, that is a great, but not understanding does not mean it lacks anything. I think we all fanatsize of certain American/european milestones as artists (ex. Your work in Times Square, , the Grammys, the Nobels, mark twain, etc) but if art is defined as the manifestation of the conversations between the artist and their inner world. It would be doing a disservice to my soul if I felt that the only way for it to be valued is that it needs to be transferable to the western experience and psyche. To me, that is to say to myself, “your experiences are not enough.” Growing up in the west I had to intentionally let go of this desire as an artist, and any POC needs to be aware of the degree in which they are engaging in this image of a successful artist, as the Eurocentric way of thinking is very overpowering. We are also are not doing the western world a favour by continuing to fuel this Eurocentric belief system, it is robbing them of the chance to explore this earth and the stories within it. I love this video of Ousmane Sembéne, when he said “I myself am the sun”

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Oil and Water, from The Homemade Remedy for the Mildly to Severely Poisoned. Asli Hersi

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Dreaming in doha

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Asli Hersi , "Would that suffice me then?"