Moroccan Poet to Sign Andalusian-Themed Collection in Spain

Moroccan poet and art critic Boujemaa El Oufi is set to sign his poetry collection, "Maqamāt y odas andalusíes" (Andalusian Odes and Stations), in Alicante, Spain, on August 4, 2026. The signing event will take place at the Museum of Contemporary Art as part of the 12th International Festival of the Kasbah Artists.

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There is an Andalusia that nests in every human being, with a force similar to the force of the earth that preserves the passage of history and life. Through this collection, Boujemaa El Oufi's poems surround us with an inner singing that transcends geography and places, evoking a deep sense of belonging. It is a journey that makes the poet and the reader part of existence and destiny, where the soul travels through spaces, meeting other translators and authors at each station, as it meets itself.

Published in 2022 by the Moroccan Research Foundation for Studies, Research, Publishing, and Cultural Strategies, the collection was released in both Arabic and Spanish. The Spanish translation was undertaken by Moroccan writer and translator Dr. Ahmed Zahir Lakhal, with a preface provided by Spanish poet, painter, and sculptor Ivonne Sánchez Barea.

The collection delves into the cultural and civilizational memory of Andalusia, celebrating its places, times, and figures, as well as its aesthetic, artistic, and intellectual achievements. It also examines the legacy of this heritage within Spanish history. El Oufi's poetic style in the collection draws parallels with Pablo Neruda's "Odas elementales" in its construction and thematic approach.

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Cordoba is a story of love and poetry. The whispers of Ibn Zaydun, Ibn Hazm, Ziryab, Wallada, and Ibn al-Khatib... still linger at its windows and the towers of the 'Calahorra' castle... The sun here smells of ginger, and the heart is surrounded by its deposit... Time has nothing to do here!

Sánchez Barea, in her preface, describes El Oufi's poems as evoking an "inner singing" that transcends geography and space, fostering a deep sense of belonging. She notes that the work guides the reader on an internal journey between memory and dreams, touching upon a shared human nostalgia. The collection includes poems dedicated to significant Andalusian and Spanish cities and personalities. For instance, the poem "Cordoba" evokes figures like Ibn Zaydun, Ibn Hazm, Ziryab, Wallada, and Ibn al-Khatib, while another poem pays tribute to Spanish poet Federico García Lorca, reflecting on his home and the circumstances of his death.

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In Lorca's house, I looked at the mirror fixed on the wall and said: I see the mirror that the eyes of the poet Lorca looked into, before the General's boots reached him, and the bullets of his soldiers aimed at the trembling body, with more than necessary care, on a scorching morning, between the villages of Víznar and Alfacar.