Saudi poet and translator Ghassan Al-Khunaizi has enriched the Arabic literary scene with a remarkable achievement: the publication of his translation of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda's collection "The Art of Birds" (Arte de pájaros), by Kalimat Publishing House in Sharjah. This translation is a significant addition to the Arabic literature on Neruda, as this work is considered one of the most important artistic milestones in the career of the author of "I Bear Witness That I Have Lived.".

This edition is particularly significant given the global stature of Pablo Neruda, winner of the 1971 Nobel Prize in Literature, a unique poetic voice in Latin American literature. His collection "The Art of Birds," originally published in 1966, is not merely a collection of poems, but an aesthetic document that was first published in his native Chile, accompanied by illustrations by prominent artists, before becoming part of his complete works and being translated into many of the world's major languages.

Critically, this collection marks a significant stylistic turning point in Neruda's work. The direct political or emotional rhetoric that characterized some of his earlier works recedes, giving way to a more concise and attuned style that resonates deeply with the pulse of nature. In this work, Neruda does not treat birds as mere decorative subjects or rhetorical metaphors, but rather as living, linguistic, and sensory beings. This invites the reader to reconsider the complex relationship between humanity and nature, and between the concepts of language, movement, and time.

The collection comprises 53 poems, artfully divided into two main sections: the first is dedicated to real birds inspired by the rich Chilean environment, while the second veers into pure fantasy with imagined birds, crafted within a mysterious structure that makes the act of naming itself a truly poetic one. Interspersed throughout the collection are three longer poems that lend it structural cohesion, blending precise description with philosophical reflection.

The importance of this translation lies in the context of Arab-Latin American cultural exchange, as it offers the Arab reader an opportunity to explore the environmental and cosmic dimensions of Neruda's poetry. Al-Khunaizi ensured accuracy, relying on an intermediary English text while rigorously consulting the original Spanish. This effort was supervised by Dr. Khadija Qaddum, Professor of Romance Languages ​​and Latin American Literature, who facilitated the editing process to guarantee the accuracy of the meaning and to respect environmental and cultural nuances, particularly regarding local names and the symbolic connotations of birds from Chile and Patagonia.

Neruda opens the collection with a majestic collective scene in which the migration of birds appears as a rigorous cosmic movement, driven by an instinct that knows no hesitation, as shown in the following excerpt:

A flock of birds,
facing
a line of latitude, made of iron and ice,
advances relentlessly
in its straight course:
a hungry straightness
like an arrow aimed,
for celestial multitudes making their way
to procreate, molded
by love and conquering geometry…

Neruda also creates imaginary birds fashioned from both feathers and language, such as the "hieroglyphic bird" which he describes as follows:

Its feathers intertwined, one beside the other,
it spreads its wings in the fields of work.
The bird of the labyrinth, the bird of land and sea,
and of riddles…

The cultural scene in Saudi Arabia has witnessed rapid growth and qualitative development in recent years, with the emergence of narrative voices that have documented societal transformations and offered a critical re-examination of reality. Among these voices stands out the writer Ahmed Al-Haqeel, who, through his literary output, has carved out a distinctive niche for himself thanks to his language, which blends philosophical depth with narrative simplicity, relying on deconstructing and reconstructing reality with a highly creative sensibility.

Identity and Roots: The Peasant's Son and the Magic of Memory

In a candid dialogue exploring the complexities of writing and the concerns of the intellectual, Al-Haqil redefines himself, setting aside official titles and remaining true to his roots as a "farmer's son" from the Sudair region. He sees writing not merely as a hobby, but as an "ingrained habit" and a tool for rediscovering the senses and resisting the relentless march of time. For him, writing is the mechanism that transforms daily chaos into order, restoring to the writer the wonder of childhood in perceiving ordinary details, from the movement of people to the sound of the tide, as if seeing them for the first time.

The Geography of Narrative: Place as a True Hero

Al-Haqil's narrative project is characterized by a powerful presence of place, a presence that doesn't arise from a vacuum, but rather from a firm conviction that literature must be a product of its environment. Despite being influenced in his early works by international writers like Samuel Beckett, who wrote outside of time and place, Al-Haqil returned to emphasize that true writing must spring from "the neighborhood and the community." The writer believes that realistic literature cannot exist without a tangible geography, citing the reader's ability to trace the locations of Al-Mutanabbi or the roads of America in Jack Kerouac's literature, thus lending the text credibility and timelessness.

The crisis of the short story and the reality of the Saudi novel

In discussing literary genres, Al-Haqil argues that the short story suffers from "critical and popular injustice" compared to the novel. He attributes this to the fact that the novel gives an impression of "completeness" and appeals to critics with its thematic unity, while short story collections appear as a mosaic requiring greater effort to understand.

As for his diagnosis of the current state of the Saudi novel, Al-Haqil offers a profound critical perspective that goes beyond the surface. He believes the novelistic movement is active but suffers from individualism and the absence of integrated institutional work. He clearly points out that the Saudi writer often works in a vacuum, lacking the comprehensive publishing industry system found in the West (literary agents, professional marketing, and up-to-date critical studies). He contrasts this with the success of popular poetry in the Gulf, which possesses historically and commercially established contexts, making it the most stable creative product.

Future challenges: between criticism and social media

Al-Haqil concludes his analysis by discussing the complex relationship between writer and critic, emphasizing the independence of each and rejecting the notion that a creative writer should write to satisfy a particular critical taste or to be universally understood. He cites examples of international and Arab literary works that have remained difficult to grasp directly yet have retained their artistic value. He also addresses the impact of social media, warning against its transformation from a medium for publication into an end in itself, imposing its own frameworks on content. This, he argues, could trivialize the creative experience if not approached with a holistic and conscious mindset.