GeorgeNicolasEl-Hage.com
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  • Professional Profile
    • Who is George Nicolas El-Hage
  • Publications
    • "Aqlam Muhajirah" The voice of the New Pen League (NPL)
    • Literary Criticism >
      • Books (English) >
        • A Labor of Love: Our Lebanon Family Home Renovation Project
        • Gibran Kahlil Gibran: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
        • Eliya Abu Madi: The Distinguished Poet of al-Rabita al-Qalamiya
        • A Brief History of Arabic Literature: Volume One: Pre-Islamic to the Abbaasid Age
        • A Brief History of Arabic Literature: Volume Two: Andalusia to the Modern Age
        • William Blake and Kahlil Gibran: Poets of Prophetic Vision
        • Gibran Kahlil Gibran: The Man Versus the Legend
        • Essays on Literature and Language
        • Ibn al-Farid's "Khamriyya" ("Ode on Wine")
        • Nizar Qabbani: Journal of a City Named Beirut
        • Nizar Qabbani: Women in My Poetry and in My Life
        • Nizar Qabbani: My Story with Poetry - "An Autobiography"
        • Nizar Qabbani: Journal of An Indifferent Woman
        • Ghada al-Samman's Beirut '75: An Autobiographical Interpretation
        • English Translation of Selected Letters of Badr Shakir al-Sayyab
        • Khalil Hawi: Letters of Love and Life
        • The Philosoper of Freike, Author of the Greater City
        • Immortal Quotes from Ameen al-Rihani’s Masterpiece The Book of Khalid
        • Ameen al-Rihani: Eastern and Western Figures
        • Ameen al-Rihani’s The Register of Repentance: Four Short Stories and a Play
        • Selected Letters of Ameen al-Rihani: Translated with an Introduction and Notes
        • Ameen al-Rihani: You...The Poets
        • Ameen al-Rihani: My Story with May
        • Ameen al-Rihani: The Muleteer and the Priest
      • Books (Arabic) >
        • al-Zajal al-Lubnani wa Zaghloul al-Damour fi Beit Meri: (Lebanese Zajal and Zaghloul al-Damour in Beit Meri)
        • Madkhal ila-l-'alam al-shi 'ri 'inda Khalil Hawi usluban wa madmunan: (An Introduction to the Poetic Universe of Khalil Hawi)
        • al-Nabi bayna 'adu al-Masih wa al-Insan al-Ilah
        • Sahifat "al-Risala" al-Lubnaniya al-Mahjariya: (The "al-Risala" Newspaper and the Lebanese Press in Diaspora)
        • Gibran Kahlil Gibran wa William Blake: Sha'ira al-Ru'ya: (Gibran Kahlil Gibran and William Blake: Poets of Prophetic Vision)
        • The Trilogy of Heroism, Redemption, and Triumph: The Press in Diaspora, Khalil Hawi, Zaghloul al-Damour
    • Textbooks & Articles on Teaching & Learning Arabic >
      • marHaba III: A Course in Levantine & Modern Standard Arabic (LMSA) >
        • Qasidat Najwa
        • marHaba III: PART ONE Audio Files
        • marHaba III: PART TWO Audio Files
        • marHaba III: PART FOUR Audio Files
      • marHaba II: A Course in Levantine Arabic - Lebanese Dialect - Intermediate Level >
        • A Companion Book to marHaba II: English Translation & Transliteration of All Lessons in marHaba II
      • marHaba: A Course in Levantine Arabic - Lebanese Dialect >
        • marHaba: Practice Workbooks
      • MABROUK: A Course in Modern Standard Arabic (Elementary & Intermediate Levels) >
        • Study Guide: MABROUK
      • The Story of Sami and Warda
      • Reviews on Qasidat Khataya
    • Lebanese Nursery Rhymes
    • Books (Poetry in English/Arabic) >
      • Love Surpassed: A Book of Poetry
      • Letters to My Son: An Immigrant's Saga
      • Lebanese Hymns of Love and War
    • Books (Poetry in Arabic) >
      • Love Poems from Beirut
      • Awdat al-Faris wa Qiyamat al-Madina
      • al-Ghurba wa Mawasim al-Dhalam
      • Law Kunti Li
      • Qasa’id Bila Tarikh (Undated Poems) >
        • Mikhail Naimy: Fathers and Sons - A Play in Four Acts
      • Maw’id wa-liqa’
      • anti wal atfaalu fi Beirut: You and the Children in Beirut
      • You and the Children in Beirut
    • Poems (English) >
      • To Mary Ann with Love: A Book of Poetry
      • Birth of a Princess
      • Forty Years of Bliss
      • Thinking of You
      • You are My Christmas
      • A Poem for Mother's Day
      • To Mary Ann on Her Birthday
    • Poems (Arabic) >
      • Arabic Poems in MSA >
        • Beirut Speaks - song
        • A Tribute to Beirut
        • Lubnaniyat
        • The Garden of Visions
        • Qasidat Najwa >
          • Reviews on Qasidat Najwa
        • Kunna ibtada’na
      • Arabic Poems in Lebanese Dialect >
        • Qasidat Khataya >
          • Reviews on Qasidat Khataya
        • Qasidat Damaar >
          • Reviews on Qasidat Damaar
        • Hilwit libnan
        • Qasidat Ya Bayi' al-ward >
          • Reviews on Qasidat Ya Bayi' al-ward
        • Qasidat Ayloul >
          • Reviews on Qasidat Ayloul
    • My Translations of Other Poets'/Writers' Works >
      • My Poetry (Translated from Arabic to English) >
        • Beirut Speaks
        • The Book of Death, #28
        • Journey of Illusion
        • Letter to a Country With No Frontier
        • A Letter to the Children of Qana
        • My People
        • You, Beirut and the Children
        • Introduction to If You Were Mine
        • Sufiya: A Mystical Poem
        • Surprise Attack
        • Exile
        • Chariot of Light
      • Karam al-Bustani: Eastern Myths
      • May Ziyadeh: The Return of the Wave
      • Said Akl: When Lebanon Speaks
      • Ameen Albert Rihani: A Train and No Station
      • Mikhail Naimy: Job: A Play in Four Acts
      • Mikhail Naimy: Once Upon A Time
      • Mikhail Naimy: Abu Batta and Other Stories
      • Mikhail Naimy: Fathers and Sons - A Play in Four Acts
      • Mikhail Naimy: Inspired by Christ
      • Mikhail Naimy: Sab‘un (Seventy) An Autobiography
      • Mikhail Naimy: al-Ghirbal (The Sieve): Selections Translated into English with an Introduction
      • Tawfiq Yusuf Awwad: “The Qareen” and Other Stories
      • Tawfiq Yusuf Awwad: The Wool Shirt and Other Stories
      • Tawfiq Yusuf Awwad: A Loaf of Bread (al-Raghif)
      • Tawfiq Yusuf Awwad: The Lame Boy and Other Stories
      • Maroun Abboud: Faces and Stories
      • Maroun Abboud: The Red Prince - A Lebanese Tale
      • Maroun Abboud: Tales from the Village
      • al-Rihaniyyat
      • Munajayat Al-Sab‘in
      • Mahmud Darwish’s poem, “Antithesis”
      • ‘Abd al-Wahhab al-Bayati’s: The Byzantine Poems of Abu Firas
      • Gibran’s Unpublished Letters to Archbishop Antonious Bashir
    • Personal Reflections >
      • First Impressions of Lebanon in June 2013
      • The Collapse of a Tradition
  • Professional Activities
    • Lectures
    • Poetry Readings
    • Interviews
    • Conferences
    • Memberships/Committees
    • Management Enrichment
  • Curriculum Vitae
  • Contact Information

al-Zajal al-Lubnani wa Zaghloul al-Damour fi Beit Meri:
(Lebanese Zajal and Zaghloul al-Damour in Beit Meri)

Zajal is the public register of the collective memory of its people and the chronicle that preserves their traditions, conventions, and popular heritage. It is mainly an oral poetic tradition that is meant to be presented (sung or recited) in a public forum before an audience, preferably on stage, between two poets or more. The origins of Zajal date back to pre-Islamic Arabia; some also argue that Zajal originated in Andalusia during the Arab’s occupation of Spain. The first wave of Zajal that reached us dates back to the 12th century where this form of poetry in dialect became popular in Lebanon and later flourished in monasteries and among educated scholars, linguists, and even prominent politicians including the ruler of Lebanon, Emir Bashir, The Second. The second wave of Zajal started in the late 1930s with the poet Asaad el-Khoury al-Fighali, better known as Shahrour al-Wadi, who established the first group of poets and set the early rules of Zajal on stage. He was followed by a number of (Zajjaaline): Zajal poets, who carried on the tradition. However, one name stands out as the founder of modern Zajal poetry in Lebanon: Joseph al-Hashime, better known as Zaghloul al-Damour (1925- 2018). Zaghloul actively accompanied this art for over seventy years. He is considered the patron-poet of Zajal and its representative par excellence. It is agreed among critics that he is the teacher, educator, and the one-man- academy that graduated tens of modern poets who studied under his supervision, learned from him, emulated him, and owe their reputation and career to his tutelage and sponsorship. Poets who wanted to be recognized and accredited either joined his group or sought to challenge him on stage just to say that they sang along with Zaghloul. Zaghloul founded the modern school/academy of Zajal poetry, established the definitive rules of debate/challenge between poets, set up the protocol of “an evening of Zajal poetry” on stage, was the first to appear with his group on television in a weekly Zajal show, and is hailed as the ambassador of Lebanese Zajal to the world of Diaspora to bring a taste of home to Lebanese and Arab immigrants around the globe. He became the preferred voice of poetry chosen to celebrate Lebanon’s weddings, funerals, national commemorations, and social events. He also established the first journal to publish Zajal poetry, debates, and duals between poets on regular basis. His journal,al-Masrah, continued its mission for over twenty years. He also published a number of his own poetry books. All said, Zaghloul remains a unique poet in the history of Zajal. His name has become synonymous with this art beloved to all Lebanese and Arab people. Zaghloul was endowed with three gifts that distinguished him and put him in a class by himself: 1) a unique talent for romantic poetry, especially spontaneous poetry inspired by the occasion or situation at hand, that touches the hearts and the minds of the listeners, 2) an exceptional and matchless voice that is in itself an orchestra of hummingbirds and multiple musical instruments simultaneously playing, 3) but above all, he was gifted with a gentle and temperate character and a kind and loving personality that endeared him to his contemporaries, his audiences, and his challengers and rivals alike. Zaghloul will be remembered not only for his poetic genius and his pioneering role but also for his humility, humanity, and for having been supportive and loyal to his friends and always gracious, civil, and forgiving towards his opponents on stage. Those who challenged him were always taught a lesson but without being degraded or embarrassed by him on stage. His passing at the age of 93 dealt a great blow to the most cherished art of Zajal, and he was mourned across Lebanon, the entire Arab world, and in Diaspora. 
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