Pluie sur la Palestine
Year: 2002
Author: Salah Stétié (1929 - 2020)
Artist: Rachid Koraïchi (1947)
Publisher: Al Manar
The author hails from Lebanon, the artist is from Algeria, the publisher is based in Paris and the poem is about the peace process in the Middle East. That is how Mediterranean the French literary connections actually are- this poem is featured in the 'Méditerrannées' series with good reason.
French literature includes many writers originally from North Africa and the further Mediterranean area, and in France a southern or Arabian theme is not by definition a characteristic of foreign literature.
Artist Koraïchi allows the strict Sufism of his childhood- free of religious aspects- to shine through in his art, mostly installations of various materials, like bowls of rose petals in combination with works of embroidery. The underlying meaning of Sufism, tolerance and openness, is conjured through the use of symbols derived from calligraphy. He moved to Paris in 1971 and also worked as an illustrator for writers like Mohammed Dib and Mahmoud Darwish.
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Stétié was born in Beirut and worked as a professor of French and comparative literature. He settled down in Paris in 1962 as the European cultural attaché for Lebanon. He also occupied the Lebanese chair in Unesco. In 1982 he became ambassador in The Hague, then in Morocco, and in 1990 in The Hague once again, where he ended his diplomatic career. Stétié has since moved to France, where he has been a well-known poet since 1972.
Pluie sur la Palestine has political overtones. The rain in the title refers to a bombardment that will bring 'la nuit' (the night) instead of 'le plein soleil de ce jour perdu' (the full sun of this lost day). Names are mentioned from past and present: Caesar, Herod and then it is a small step to Bush.
Bibliographical description
Description: Pluie sur la Palestine / Salah Stétié (texte) ; Rachid Koraïchi (lithographie). - [Neuilly-sur-Seine] : Al Manar, 2002. – Leporello, [8] p. : ill. ; 26 cm. – (Méditerranées)
Printer: SAIG
Edition: 85 copies
This copy: Number 35 of 85 on Arches
Typeface: Garamond
Note: Signed by the author and artist
Bibliography: Bénézit 7-945
Shelfmark: KW Koopm L 503
References
- Béatrice Bonhomme, Salah Stétié en miroir. Amsterdam, Rodopi, 2000
- Paul van Capelleveen, Sophie Ham, Jordy Joubij, Voices and visions. The Koopman Collection and the Art of the French Book. The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, National Library of the Netherlands; Zwolle, Waanders, 2009
- Paul van Capelleveen, Sophie Ham, Jordy Joubij, Voix et visions. La Collection Koopman et l'Art du Livre français. La Haye, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Bibliothèque nationale des Pays-Bas; Zwolle, Waanders, 2009
- Paule Plouvier, Renée Ventresque: Itinéraires de Salah Stétié. Paris, L'Harmattan, 1996