Great Regulars: Poetry for him [Adonis] is not merely

a genre or an art form but a way of thinking, something almost like mystical revelation. "Poetry cannot be made to fit either religion or ideology," he said in the talk. "It offers that knowledge which is explosive and surprising."

He went on to complain about what he called the "retardation" of contemporary Arabic poetry, which in his view has become a rhetorical tool for celebrating and explaining the political and religious status quo.

from Charles McGrath: The New York Times: A Revolutionary of Arabic Verse

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