"Loneliness," a film by Odveig Klyve and Kari Klyve Gulbrandsen, featuring poetry by Manal Alsheikh

"Loneliness."

"Loneliness" is a 2011 film by Odveig Klyve and Kari Klyve Gulbrandsen. It features a 2009 poem by Manal Alsheikh from Iraq, now in exile in Norway. The film has been shown at Kapittel, Stavanger International Festival for Literature and Freedom of Speech 2011. It was screened at the International Literary Film Festival in NYC, November 2011.

"Loneliness."

A lock for every door

A shoe for every horse

My wall-less door stands sadly

With a mere knock swinging like you, lonely horseshoe.

Manal Alsheikh

يُتم

لكلِّ بابٍ قفلٌ

ولكلِّ حصانٍ حدوةٌ

حزيناً يقفُ بابي، بلا جدران يقف

وتظلّ طَرقةٌ وحيدةٌ تتأرجحُ مثلكَ يا حدوتهُ اليتيمة

Manal Alsheikh

Q&A with poet Manal Alsheikh.

Lee Bob Black: Where did the idea for your poem "Loneliness" come from?

Manal Alsheikh: I wrote this poem when I arrived to Norway in 2009, and I was missing my life there in my country, Iraq.

LBB: What is the best bit of advice about writing poetry or journalism that you have ever gotten?

MA: Be yourself when you write.

LBB: What books would do you recommend to people who would like to learn more about your home country of Iraq?

MA: The three holy books—the Torah, the Bible, and the Qur’an, and the poem “Epic of Gilgamesh”—I’m sure this poem has been translated into many languages. Also, one can find many books about history of Iraq at www.royalty.nu/MiddleEast/Iraq/Sumer.html [archive].

LBB: What are you working on now?

MA: I’m working on a novel now; I hope I can finish it very soon. It’ll be my first novel among my poetry collections and the narrative one.

LBB: What other plans do you have for the future?

MA: In writing, I can’t plan for a specific thing. Writing is a moment; you can’t control or plan for it. But when I feel that I’m ready to write, I can’t stop doing that. Some of my poems have images more than meanings, so I think they are suitable to be featured in literary films, and maybe also plays.

(The above Q&A between Manal Alsheikh and Lee Bob Black was conducted November 2011 for the International Literary Film Festival.)

Manal Alsheikh.

Manal Alsheikh

The Iraqi poet and writer Manal Alsheikh was born in Nineveh in northern Iraq. She has a Bachelor in English-Arabic translation from the college of Arts, Mosul University. She has worked in local and Arab press as a freelance journalist. She has published creative and literary articles and texts in many Iraqi, Arab, and European newspapers and magazines, and participated in many cultural festivals within and outside of her native country. Many of her poems and essays have been translated into several languages including English, French, Norwegian, Catalan, Macedonian and Italian. She currently resides in Stavanger, Norway.

Poetry:

* "With a red dot under his left eye," Alghaoon Publishing House, Beirut, 2010.
* "Impossible Letters," Fadaat Publishing House, Amman.

Narrative works:

* "Deviation of Coffins," Nineveh Union of Iraqi Writers, 1996.
* "The gates of Antioch Night," Kudmus Publishing House, Damascus, 2010.

Other works:

* "Books of Seclusion," Malamih Publishing House Cairo, 2008.
* "Princes of Visions," an anthology of modern Iraqi poetry, Cultural House Algeria, 2007.

منال الشيخ*

شاعرة وكاتبة عراقية ولدت في مدينة نينوى شمال العراق في 18 يناير. تقيم حالياً في مدينة ستافنجر بالنرويج. حاصلة على شهادة بكالوريوس ترجمة انكليزية من كلية الآداب جامعة الموصل. عملت في الصحافة المحلية والعربية كصحافية حرة. نشرت كتباتها الابداعية ومقالاتها الأدبية في العديد من الصحف والمجلات العراقية والعربية والأوربية. شاركت في مهرجانات عديدة داخل البلد وخارجه وترجمت قصائدها ومقالاتها إلى عدة لغات منها: الانكليزية والفرنسية والنرويجية والكتالونية والايطالية والألمانية والمقدونية..
اصداراتها الشعرية:
1- ديوان "بالنقطة الحمراء تحت عينهِ اليسرى" عن دار الغاوون / بيروت 2010
2- ديوان "رسائل لا تصلُ" عن دار فضاءات/ عمّان

مجموعات سردية:
1- "انحراف التوابيت" عن سلسة نون الصادرة عن اتحاد أدباء نينوى بالعراق/ 1996
2- "بوابات ليل أنطاكيا" عن دار قدمس/ دمشق/ 2010

اصدارات أخرى:
أعدت انطلوجيا للشعر العراقي الحديث بعنوان " أمراء الرؤى" عن منشورات البيت الثقافي/ الجزائر 2007
كتاب "أسفار العزلة" عن دار ملامح/ القاهرة 2008

www.twitter.com/manaliana

Odveig Klyve.

Odveig Klyve (born 1954) is a Norwegian film director, writer, and translator. She has written and directed short films, presented at international film festivals in Europe, USA and India. Her poetry is translated into several languages. She lives in Stavanger at the west coast of Norway.

www.OdveigKlyve.no

Kari Klyve Gulbrandsen.

Kari Klyve Gulbrandsen (born 1980) is a Norwegian film director, photographer, and editor. She has directed, photographed, and edited several short films. She has a Master on Documentary Film. She lives in Bergen at the west coast of Norway.

Photo of Kari Klyve Gulbrandsen by Hannah Belsvik Hansen.