“I have no news. I live quietly, I love you and I wait.'“ — Vladimir Mayakovsky, from a letter featured in Love in the Heart of Everything; The Correspondence between Vladimir Mayakovsky & Lili Brik, 1915-1930
As a translator, this newsletter made me very happy. You might have heard about the Arabic word قهر (qahr) but if not, here's a great quote about it...
“The dictionary says “anger” but it’s not. It is when you take anger, place it on a low fire, add injustice, oppression, racism, dehumanization to it, and leave it to cook slowly for a century. And then you try to say it but no one hears you. So it sits in your heart. And settles in your cells. And it becomes your genetic imprint. And then moves through generations. And one day, you find yourself unable to breathe. It washes over you and demands to break out of you. You weep. And the cycle repeats.”
Eugénie, I am happy that this was a happy read for you. I haven't encountered قهر before, and what a beautiful and wrecking thing. For entire generations and communities and Indigenous groups to have this kind of feeling accompanying them through life—we can do so much better. Free Palestine, and love to you too.
Always Michael, this nuance is there always. It makes it all the more important to listen to people deeply, and why it is so confusing for people at times to discern a truth. The ability to think critically and question within the nuanced shape of language is more important than ever.
As a translator, this newsletter made me very happy. You might have heard about the Arabic word قهر (qahr) but if not, here's a great quote about it...
“The dictionary says “anger” but it’s not. It is when you take anger, place it on a low fire, add injustice, oppression, racism, dehumanization to it, and leave it to cook slowly for a century. And then you try to say it but no one hears you. So it sits in your heart. And settles in your cells. And it becomes your genetic imprint. And then moves through generations. And one day, you find yourself unable to breathe. It washes over you and demands to break out of you. You weep. And the cycle repeats.”
Love, and free Palestine.
Eugénie, I am happy that this was a happy read for you. I haven't encountered قهر before, and what a beautiful and wrecking thing. For entire generations and communities and Indigenous groups to have this kind of feeling accompanying them through life—we can do so much better. Free Palestine, and love to you too.
In summary, languages are fill with AND full of nuances and are NOT black-and-white. Am I correct?
Always Michael, this nuance is there always. It makes it all the more important to listen to people deeply, and why it is so confusing for people at times to discern a truth. The ability to think critically and question within the nuanced shape of language is more important than ever.
Likewise for humanity and the world?