The Faculty of Arts at the Islamic University of Gaza hosted a literary lecture titled “Critical Approaches” as part of the Poetry and Theater Week events organized by the Cultural Creativity Forum. The lecture was graced by esteemed attendees, including Professor Kamal Ghonaim, the head of the forum and a literature and criticism professor at the Faculty of Arts; Dr. Sanaa Zaqout, a Palestinian activist and researcher; and Ms. Hanan Haroun. Also in attendance were Arabic Language Department students.
Professor Ghonaim set the tone for the lecture by outlining the critical approaches to be examined, focusing on the dramatic structure and artistic phenomena in the works of three poets: Abdul Nasser Saleh, Ghazi Al-Qusaybi, and Nazik Al-Malaika. Dr. Zaqout dove into the structural and dramatic construction of some verses from Abdul Nasser Saleh’s poem, “The Strands of a Gazelle’s Face is a Diamond.” She explored the poet’s moral and structural meanings and praised his ability to blend clear language and artistic images to great effect. She opined that this poem embodied all the elements of the dramatic structure and was closer to the theatrical structure that compelled the reader to explore beyond traditional molds.
Conversely, Ms. Haroun analyzed some poetic verses of Ghazi Al-Qusaybi, highlighting the many artistic and aesthetic phenomena they contained. She commended his use of various creative phenomena, such as appropriate sound fragmentation, text phrase linking, and his knack for negating context using a news and creative style. She also extolled his use of colors and visual imagery to engage the reader.
Professor Ghonaim turned to the poem “Cholera” by Iraqi poet Nazik Al-Malaika. He delved into the reason for its composition and naming, which was attributed to the cholera epidemic that ravaged Egypt and claimed many lives. He highlighted the poet’s triumph in conveying the emotion of sadness that had befallen the city due to the epidemic, through the sound and linguistic implications contained in the text. He added that the text’s reliance on visual imagery made it more realistic and imbued it with a variety of artistic features and images.
