Hiwar

An extraordinary dialogue between two titans of Arabic culture

In 1998, the Syrian curator, gallerist and publisher Mouna Atassi brought together the acclaimed Syrian artist Fateh Moudaress (1922-99) and the great Arab poet Adonis (born 1930) for a public conversation that took place across four days at Atassi's gallery in Damascus.

Moudaress was famous for boldly hued paintings that merge Islamic, Sumerian, Assyrian and Christian visual traditions in a uniquely modern synthesis. Similarly, Adonis--one of the most influential figures in modern Arabic poetry--has rebelled against the tropes of traditional Arabic poetry to experiment with free verse, variable meter and prose poetry; he is responsible for a colossal poetic revolution in Arabic literature.

This extraordinary encounter between two giant figures in Arabic culture is translated from Arabic to English for the first time in this volume, which also reproduces 30 previously unseen paintings and drawings by Moudaress.