Could you tell us about your photography experience that you wandered through the streets of America to portray the displaced and the angry people, what were you aiming for?
-Starting my project in 2009, I already knew the US was in irrevocable decline economically, socially and politically, and this is confirmed with each visit to a new neighborhood, town or city. Everywhere, Americans tell me they're making less money and struggling more, and this shouldn't surprise, since most of American manufacturing has been moved overseas, for the cheaper labor. In any American home, there's hardly anything that's still made in the USA. With my political writing and photography, I'm documenting this societal unraveling with images and stories from actual people. Talking to them, I learn of their worries, frustrations and dependence on alcohol or drugs to get through a day. Last year, 900 people died of drug overdoses in Philadelphia, my home city of 1.5 million. That's an insane number.
You are a political writer and you have many political essays. Do not you think that politics can spoil literature?
-Absolutely not. I fully believe that writers should be public intellectuals, and it's unfortunate that they've become increasingly marginalized in all societies. Walt Whitman, George Orwell, Czeslaw Milosz, Milan Kundera, Mahmoud Darwish and Michel Houellebecq, etc., are great primarily because they're political writers. Now, it's not a question of being "correct" politically with every issue, but a writer should grapple with the gravest crises afflicting his society. If he doesn't, who will?
You are a rebel writer and often uncommitted with the protocols that your fellow writers are keen on, why?
-Most American writers are employed by universities, so they have to watch what they say. Even as a student three decades ago, I learnt that American universities were very conformist, and the situation has gotten much, much worse. Since I'm not a professor, I can speak my mind without fear of reprisals or losing my job. I publish all of my articles for free, and am dependent on monetary contributions from ordinary readers. I don't write for my fellow writers but taxi drivers, housewives, bartenders and plumbers.
The US media is controlled by just a handful of corporations, so opinions are actually very tightly controlled, despite the existence of many television stations, magazines and newspapers. The better I become as a writer and thinker, the fewer mainstream venues are available to me, but my readership has actually increased, thanks to the alternative media online.
In one of your stories, you used to point out that books protect their reader from the destruction of wars. How does that happen?
-In this story, I depict an illiterate who carries many books around as status symbols and talismans. At the end, his entire village is destroyed, but this fool is saved, literally, by "at least ten thousand books." Beyond the joke is my acknowledgment that words can dignify, if not quite redeem, even the most horrific experiences. Though mostly impotent to alter events or even our own puny fate, we can at least convey, if only fleetingly, our struggles and horrors.
Do you know a lot about Arabic literature? How did you find it?
-I've only read Mahmoud Darwish, Adonis, Ashur Etwebi, Fawziyya Abu Khalid, Abdullah Al-Baradouni and a few others. These poets, I discovered in American literary journals and anthologies. It's inexcusable that I know so little about Arabic literature. I certainly wish to know the Arab world much better. I have yet to visit an Arab country, unfortunately.
Finally, what would you like to your Arabian readers?
-I'm very grateful that there is any interest in me at all, so thank you. Saudi Arabia is often in the news in the US but, I'm certain, much of the reporting must be overly simplistic if not warped. Some day, I hope to experience the country and meet its people.
To Flee Conjugation
Lugging my exploded home
And trampling on my own name,
I trek to a yearned deformation.
Imperial chaos hacks flesh,
Sends the unmeshed towards a
Capsized horizon. They dream
Of clean graphic design, houses
That don't collapse onto cribs.
-Starting my project in 2009, I already knew the US was in irrevocable decline economically, socially and politically, and this is confirmed with each visit to a new neighborhood, town or city. Everywhere, Americans tell me they're making less money and struggling more, and this shouldn't surprise, since most of American manufacturing has been moved overseas, for the cheaper labor. In any American home, there's hardly anything that's still made in the USA. With my political writing and photography, I'm documenting this societal unraveling with images and stories from actual people. Talking to them, I learn of their worries, frustrations and dependence on alcohol or drugs to get through a day. Last year, 900 people died of drug overdoses in Philadelphia, my home city of 1.5 million. That's an insane number.
You are a political writer and you have many political essays. Do not you think that politics can spoil literature?
-Absolutely not. I fully believe that writers should be public intellectuals, and it's unfortunate that they've become increasingly marginalized in all societies. Walt Whitman, George Orwell, Czeslaw Milosz, Milan Kundera, Mahmoud Darwish and Michel Houellebecq, etc., are great primarily because they're political writers. Now, it's not a question of being "correct" politically with every issue, but a writer should grapple with the gravest crises afflicting his society. If he doesn't, who will?
-Most American writers are employed by universities, so they have to watch what they say. Even as a student three decades ago, I learnt that American universities were very conformist, and the situation has gotten much, much worse. Since I'm not a professor, I can speak my mind without fear of reprisals or losing my job. I publish all of my articles for free, and am dependent on monetary contributions from ordinary readers. I don't write for my fellow writers but taxi drivers, housewives, bartenders and plumbers.
The US media is controlled by just a handful of corporations, so opinions are actually very tightly controlled, despite the existence of many television stations, magazines and newspapers. The better I become as a writer and thinker, the fewer mainstream venues are available to me, but my readership has actually increased, thanks to the alternative media online.
In one of your stories, you used to point out that books protect their reader from the destruction of wars. How does that happen?
-In this story, I depict an illiterate who carries many books around as status symbols and talismans. At the end, his entire village is destroyed, but this fool is saved, literally, by "at least ten thousand books." Beyond the joke is my acknowledgment that words can dignify, if not quite redeem, even the most horrific experiences. Though mostly impotent to alter events or even our own puny fate, we can at least convey, if only fleetingly, our struggles and horrors.
Do you know a lot about Arabic literature? How did you find it?
-I've only read Mahmoud Darwish, Adonis, Ashur Etwebi, Fawziyya Abu Khalid, Abdullah Al-Baradouni and a few others. These poets, I discovered in American literary journals and anthologies. It's inexcusable that I know so little about Arabic literature. I certainly wish to know the Arab world much better. I have yet to visit an Arab country, unfortunately.
Finally, what would you like to your Arabian readers?
-I'm very grateful that there is any interest in me at all, so thank you. Saudi Arabia is often in the news in the US but, I'm certain, much of the reporting must be overly simplistic if not warped. Some day, I hope to experience the country and meet its people.
To Flee Conjugation
Lugging my exploded home
And trampling on my own name,
I trek to a yearned deformation.
Imperial chaos hacks flesh,
Sends the unmeshed towards a
Capsized horizon. They dream
Of clean graphic design, houses
That don't collapse onto cribs.
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
2
2
1
