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Tales from the Book of Love: Poems Inspired by the Holy Bible
Paperback
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ISBN13: 9798285318491
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: May 26 2025
Pages: 110
Weight: 0.26
Height: 0.26 Width: 5.00 Depth: 8.00
Language: English
Publisher: Independently Published
Published: May 26 2025
Pages: 110
Weight: 0.26
Height: 0.26 Width: 5.00 Depth: 8.00
Language: English
In a quiet longing to Egyptianize certain tales-those timeless moments drawn from the sacred pages of the Bible-I began the first part of this collection.
Not in protest against the scripture's current form, but out of a hidden ache: a sense that some of its meanings stand distant from the simple Egyptian heart.
Not in protest against the scripture's current form, but out of a hidden ache: a sense that some of its meanings stand distant from the simple Egyptian heart.
This distance is born, perhaps, of the classical Arabic in which the holy books are rendered, or of the long stretch of centuries separating us from their first breathings-
and sometimes, of the lands themselves, unfamiliar to both tongue and soil.
So, I chose to write in Egyptian colloquial, the voice closest to my ear- and, I believe, to the hearts of many.
I sought to plant these stories in Egyptian earth, among our villages and cities, spoken in the cadences of our daily bread, our sorrows, our streetlamps, our cafés and our fields.
Later, I translated those poems into English. In that I was primarily driven by my longing for my wife and children to read them in a language they could grasp. That of course extends to all my American friends as well.
This may raise a few brows, as it bends away from the accepted canon.
But let me be clear: this is no translation, no scholarly attempt to replicate the holy writ. It is a deeply personal vision- a purely artistic meditation on meanings that stirred in me, and which I now offer to the reader.
In the second part of the book, I've gathered verses born of scriptural sparks- each poem beginning with a verse or thought drawn from sacred text, and flowing onward in my own voice.
They are meditations, songs, flights through the hidden layers of meaning, all set in a distinctly Egyptian atmosphere-with rhythms shaped for singing,
for humming under one's breath.
At times, the feeling has carried me far from the beaten path of spiritual writing.
Forgive me if I stray-but I have walked where the heart pulled.
This book is, in the end, a quiet attempt-to create, to imagine anew.
Whether it finds echo in your heart or not, I leave that to you.
But know this: these poems are a tender unveiling, drawn from the depths of my depths.
They would never have seen the light were it not for the gentle urging of dear friends-thinkers and souls I trust-who'd asked me to share them.
-Sherif Meleka
and sometimes, of the lands themselves, unfamiliar to both tongue and soil.
So, I chose to write in Egyptian colloquial, the voice closest to my ear- and, I believe, to the hearts of many.
I sought to plant these stories in Egyptian earth, among our villages and cities, spoken in the cadences of our daily bread, our sorrows, our streetlamps, our cafés and our fields.
Later, I translated those poems into English. In that I was primarily driven by my longing for my wife and children to read them in a language they could grasp. That of course extends to all my American friends as well.
This may raise a few brows, as it bends away from the accepted canon.
But let me be clear: this is no translation, no scholarly attempt to replicate the holy writ. It is a deeply personal vision- a purely artistic meditation on meanings that stirred in me, and which I now offer to the reader.
In the second part of the book, I've gathered verses born of scriptural sparks- each poem beginning with a verse or thought drawn from sacred text, and flowing onward in my own voice.
They are meditations, songs, flights through the hidden layers of meaning, all set in a distinctly Egyptian atmosphere-with rhythms shaped for singing,
for humming under one's breath.
At times, the feeling has carried me far from the beaten path of spiritual writing.
Forgive me if I stray-but I have walked where the heart pulled.
This book is, in the end, a quiet attempt-to create, to imagine anew.
Whether it finds echo in your heart or not, I leave that to you.
But know this: these poems are a tender unveiling, drawn from the depths of my depths.
They would never have seen the light were it not for the gentle urging of dear friends-thinkers and souls I trust-who'd asked me to share them.
-Sherif Meleka
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