Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- Foreword
- EDITORIAL ARTICLE
- ARTICLES
- FEATURED ARTICLES
- LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
- My Mother (Nawal El Saadawi) – Poem
- And the Stars Beckoned – Short Story
- Hijack in Hurghada – A Travelogue
- Childless – Short Story
- The President's Change Agent
- TRIBUTE
- REVIEWS
- Reviews of Nigerian Poetry
My Mother (Nawal El Saadawi) – Poem
from LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 24 August 2019
- Frontmatter
- Dedication
- Contents
- Notes on Contributors
- Foreword
- EDITORIAL ARTICLE
- ARTICLES
- FEATURED ARTICLES
- LITERARY SUPPLEMENT
- My Mother (Nawal El Saadawi) – Poem
- And the Stars Beckoned – Short Story
- Hijack in Hurghada – A Travelogue
- Childless – Short Story
- The President's Change Agent
- TRIBUTE
- REVIEWS
- Reviews of Nigerian Poetry
Summary
She
taught me
how to be proud of my head
not
how to go with men to bed
—
She
taught me
how my dissident creative writings
can be my honor, my pride, my sky
a sky where I can sing, dance, laugh and cry
where I can sleep undressed
without being in the least shy
—
She
told me that my destiny
was to swim under water
to go against the stream
to soar above the cloudy weather
of the ‘Hareem’
—
She said to me:
‘the pleasure of writing
is your only reward
not prizes not critics’ reviews
never suppress your true self
it is a sin
that has no excuse’
—
She told me
that my freedom is priceless
not to be compromised
without any hesitation or regret
for it is my complexion my existence
my blood and my sweat
—
My mother Nawal al Saadawi
Always reminds me
that my free life
is the most creative poem
I can ever write
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- ALT 35: Focus on EgyptAfrican Literature Today 35, pp. 235 - 236Publisher: Boydell & BrewerPrint publication year: 2017