I Won Love, a Poem by Abdulbasset Abdulsalam Qassem ALsamadi

While she walks steam rises From the snow  It's Spring , so There is no arrogance

There is no dust in the roads And flowers

I dangled to smell the Fragrance of jasmine

For her The nights sailed with 

The waves, 

and from the look of 

at sunrise, 

I won love and Did not lose my heart, 

and for The sake of her heart, 

which I love, 

I wove from my vein A silk shawl of longing and Called out in an emotional Voice,

O you who loved your path 

And spread pomegranate leaves 

I must meet you and close my eyes in peace and before the day return to hug you in my chest 

your eyes are crazy love, 

And capture the love in your Eyes Like drinking sea water 

The more I Drank, the thirstier I became

O woman, 

I don't like to stay up late Except with you

And I don't like drawing in Perspective

The eye of the ant except When

Draw I love you may she Grow up

In your eyes a thousand Times

For love

Give me love with cold Water drop by drop 

Give me everything my heart needs For years of love and a Thousand nights and nights.

□

- Abdulbasset Abdulsalam Qassem ALsamadi 

Yemen

[Painting by Omaima Abdulbasset]

About the Poet:- 

He is a poet from Yemen, born in Jabal Habashi, Taiz Governorate. He holds an honorary doctorate in Arabic literature.. He holds a diploma of appreciation from Together for Letters, Argentina. He won an international poetry competition in Sicily, Italy 2024. A critical reading of his poem “For the Eyes of a Woman from” Baghdad by the Tunisian poet Nour Bouaziz. Some of his poems were translated into several languages: Portuguese, French, Croatian, English, Italian, Albanian, Spanish and Chinese. Arab and international newspapers and magazines, paper and electronic, publish his poems. He participated in the Anthology of World Peace.  

He participated in books and Electronic collections. Participated in Al-Salam International Magazine, issue nine and issue ten. Stockholm, among the top 100 influential and distinguished personalities in 2021, 2022, and 2023. From the Algerian newspaper Nahwa Shorouk. From the President of the Arab Media Ambassadors, among the top 100 personalities. International Creativity and Humanities Fellowship - England, London in 2017. 2022 2023. He received dozens of certificates of appreciation.

[Painting by Omaima Abdulbasset]

[Painter : Omaima Abdulbasset]

About the Painter:-

She is the painter Omaima Abdulbasset Abdulsalam Qassem  from the Mansoura , Aden Governorate - Yemen, Was born in the Sira, Aden Governorate on 24/6/2010. She studies in Al-Qadisiyah School Al Mansoura and passed the eighth grade until the ninth grade  basic education. She participated in the Ramadan drawing Competition in Violet International Magazine in Iraq Year 2022 and she got a certificate of appreciation. She received a certificate of appreciation for Her participation in the drawing competition At the Khadija Educational Complex, Mansoura, Aden. She received a special award from Serbia in the international competition on 7/22/2024 to encourage her in the future.

"NEIGHBOR'S SNAKE" : HUMAN BLOOD AGAINST HYPOCRISY AND BLINDNESS IN THE DARKNESS OF THE CENTURY

A few days ago, the new book "NEIGHBOR SNAKE" by the author Alketa Gashi Fazliu was published. "Neighbor's snake" is a tap and a new poetic spirit within the human self and life experiences that raises the voice of spiritual freedom and its ennoblement at the same time!

It is the human bleeding where, through the means of poetic expression, the hypocrisy of the souls who are enslaved and dependent on the rope of time and myopia in love is fought. 

It is a piece of time, youth and freedom that communicates with readers but also a piece of hope for forgiveness and love over the darkness of the century!

In the content of the poems, the existential saga of a dualistic ferment and the high ideals of the Albanian woman to ennoble life even in times of "cholera" is what G.G would say. Marquis! The pleasure is during the ascent and the literary mission calls us every day!

The author of the book: "The Neighbor's Snake", Alketa Gashi - Fazliu is a presenter, journalist and editor at Radio Television of Kosovo. She is currently pursuing a PhD in Media and Communication. Alketa is an active member of various professional organizations including the Union and Association of Albanian Journalists, the Kosovar-Swedish Scientific Institute, the Union of Albanian Writers and Critics, the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, the Swiss Association of Journalists and is an Honorary Member of the Writers' Association in Italy.

As a journalist, Alketa has published numerous editorials in Kosovo and some of the main European media publications. She has also written and published 12 historiographical public works as well as prose and poetry. Alketa is the winner of several national and international awards and recognitions for journalism, literature and publishing. Some of her literary works have been translated into: English, French, Italian, German, Polish, Portuguese, Arabic, etc.

[Prepared by Angela Kosta, Executive Director of MIRIADE Magazine, Academic, journalist, writer, poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, translator, promoter]

Two Poems by Alessandro Russo - Italy

THE CURVES OF THE EYES

After a while I knew

that I would have still your eyes

staring at mine, filling them up,

making them beautiful.

I stopped everything, shaped all the stairs

that ran up

the spells of the expectation,

and on each step, and at each flight turn

there was a thought of us

that arrived or came back.

I didn’t see anymore, over, above or under

your eyes, and thought

that everyone should gaze at them

I knew that the stairs can go down too

and that those eyes could hurt,

but I couldn’t imagine that, also I

could have stared with the same eyes,

stare at you with the same eyes.

□

SHARPENING THE CROSS AND CRESCENT MOON

Two brothers were waiting

impatiently the moon

with their shoulders leaned against a tree

that seemed to broaden its arms

to shape a cross with its branches.

The tree started strip of green

laying bare an omen,

right there where once

was driven a wooden pole

with another pole crossed on top

as a foul crown

The moon arrived

but only half,

and the younger brother

caught it like a scimitar,

pointing at the other

who meanwhile uprooted

the tree, seized it

like a sword

The blood of that night

became mulch

that still is nourishing

what everybody calls

the Holy Land.

□

Alessandro Russo was born in Castellammare di Stabia (Naples - Italy). He is the author of several books of poetry and has been awarded many national and international poetry awards.

[Prepared by Angela Kosta, Executive Director of MIRIADE Magazine, Academic, journalist, writer, poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, translator]

Astrit Lulushi: His versatile creative sensibility By Maria Teresa Liuzzo - founder and director of the international cultural magazine "Le Muse" (Italy)

[Maria Teresa Liuzzo]

[Astrit Lulushi]

Astri Lulushi's writing caught my interest because of the amount of quality work that only rare writers can afford. His signature, in my opinion, takes the first place among the chosen ones. The themes addressed are of a universal nature, they speak of love, history and erotic contemplation in its heavenly beauty: the result is a masterpiece of precious writing and elegant contemplation that contrasts in a modern scenario. The author seeks a solution to existential problems. His language, restrained and never shy, succumbs to the tension when it takes on dramatic tones, although covered by a touching sweetness that is music and prayer. His intimate biography goes through a formal progression of a family and sentimental nature, moving from the collective to the objective. Coherent writing that goes from fleeting joy to human frustrations and history that seems relentless in our eyes. In the sadness of his (the writer's) gaze, truth becomes a word that condemns History in its tragic, shocking cruelty. Her smile is absent or barely hinted at and becomes liquefied like that of undines, aquatic creatures with bodies that transcend the limit of the visible through the language of complicity that caresses the chosen souls and: 

''while the heart sighed 

the moon opened in your face. 

It was a beautiful dream''.

Its elegance is not for show or exhibitionism: Astrit Lulushi is measured in its silent simplicity. There is respect and common sense, there is "savoirfaire". Kail (Agostino Degas): ''Belonging is a superior connection that defies the limits of time and distance. The spirituality of souls meeting forever... and even death will not be able to separate''. His writing is always a constant, refined elegance where the idiom of consciousness remains unknown. Profound literary expression is hidden in the power of words, and it is up to us readers to find water in the desert like diviners. The author's life is similar to that of a child thrown into the fire, who, burning, joined him and learned to "love" him as a sacred text. From those flames come readings that last only a night, others forever, like black roses that bloom in winter in their overwhelming beauty, but you can't tell whether words of love or death come out of their glow. His mind is in the melody of the wind and the sound of the water. Regarding Faruk Myrtaj's well-known criticism of the incredible life of Astri Lulushi, it is incredible not only his way of life, but the whole life of this special writer. An existence lived between adventure and tragedy. Suffice it to say that he entered the water barefoot, crossing the sand like an anonymous bather until he came out to sea, just as St. Francis of Paola - the patron saint of Calabria - did when he crossed the sea in his cloak. It was a trauma for a boy, in his early twenties, to interrupt his studies to find himself catapulted into an unknown country, not knowing the language of the land he had landed in.

Perhaps, unwittingly, it reminds me of the life of "Richard the Lionheart", the pain that arose in his chest was overcome by the will to "keep dreaming", to overcome all weather to realize his dream without seeing back. In a short time he sacrificed himself, learned a foreign language and studied profitably. His message was positively received by the dispossessed, the marginalized, the lonely, the defeated, the exiles, the patriots who were his great audience. He became the "Voice of America." But in front of the writer lies the greatness of the true, just, faithful to his principles, cultured, generous man. A man of facts and not words. All of this could not but hit me like a sword in the chest as a person first and second as the director of an international culture magazine "Le Muse", published for 24 years and a talent scout, who has saw Creme and published on its pages the Central European and world community of poets, writers, researchers, Nobel Prize winners and candidates for the same prize.

I saw in AstritLulushi a crucified body, in him I recognized an undermined psyche - for only those who have experienced the pain and carry it within themselves can recognize that of others. His amazing creativity is set aside by the "jackals" of the moment, because those who are better than others always represent a danger to the "wretched" and the dishonest. But the truth is like love that no one can cage, as well as the powerful voice of the author not only in Albania but in the world. There is a saying that the grass is always greener on the other side. Cultured people are unpleasant because they do not allow themselves to be manipulated. So those cursed with envy even pretend to celebrate the dead to abuse the living: unbelievable but true. They penalize perfection to give credit to the most vulgar submission that falls on the carpet like a pilgrim at their feet. After all, wasn't Cain the one who killed Abel out of jealousy? And Joseph's brothers sold him as a slave to the merchants, taking the bloody garment to their father, saying that it had been torn to pieces by a wild animal? The primary interests of Astri Lulusi are peace, the protection of nature, the well-being of humanity. His elegance and reserve were greeted in retaliation, not with the honors he would have deserved. His writing is noble and sanguine and one can discern his DNA, consistency, authority, patience, research, memory, qualities that make him unique on the international stage. His encyclopedic masterpiece should be appreciated especially in the country of origin, i.e. in Albania. It should be praised, and protected as a precious asset, as is done with monuments - in our case "Human" - place of UNESCO World Heritage. . It reminds me of the great poet of 1900, Lorenzo Calogero - who committed suicide - whose value was recognized posthumously by his "rival" Eugenio Montale, who said that if this had happened (i.e. if Calogero would had received the Nobel) he would have "buried" them all. It is said that history repeats itself - and I am sure of it - perhaps because, like William Faulkner (1897-1962), in the bourgeois and modern era theory turned into drama. We find similar elements in Hemingway, Caldwell and Scott-Fitzgerald (such as the presence of tragedy). War writer, nuclear super tech writer, to space travel. Beyond the author's way of expression, there is an extraordinary compression that goes beyond the known saying, as it is separated from the concrete time of life (the unhealed pain of the loss of his beloved son) who died at the age of thirty. - two. 

Astrit Lulushi, like Aldo Palazzeschi, does not trust the tone and the upper classes, not being a professor, he does not like some institutions. "The way of the sea" was his great teacher. He wanted to see with his own eyes how to really live, he understood people who shared their faith by talking to them. He revealed the "hidden" part of people, the anomalies, all closely from many aspects and free from any rhetorical temptation. We know that the truth cleanses our souls of deceit and hatred, and writing is a good ally, a lifeline. In his verses we find a conscience that bleeds and a good one that appears with fear and slips into the gaze of the interlocutor like the sun when it sinks into the sea. His thoughts do not fear the lightning rod, his subconscious explodes and becomes magma in his heart and soul. His voice imposes itself and the word sinks into the verses with its achingly tragic loneliness, as the last star sets in a brush of the sky. It is like hanging clothes in the sun, while continuing to plant questions like millet. Gestures, cries, doubts appear where anxieties find an outlet in the various changes that make up and break down each of his writings, where even regret finds new life, having attributed to his language a classical dimension derived from his encounters with people. that you meet on the street, at the barber, at the baker. But above all from those who were poor in words and courage. Astri Lulushi's writing is not the language of power, today the art of the dominant classes, but it is the voice of the heart and reason that questions the conscience and mentality of those who still dress as wolves and cry: "Wolf" that, after the characters of the novels are reflected in the geographical reality and not of the Author, they will be the ones who will turn their backs and accuse him of the opposite. Why not? Therefore, the cry of truth is not revenge, but anger that is very skillfully rooted in a "shadowy place" where the wind will draw the rain and sweep away the blood and ashes, so that the genocide of history does not repeat itself where it does not yes, and the truth when you sacrifice everything for power.

For Astri Lulushi, writing is the voice of blood, it is the life that he loves and feels mutual, enlightened in its most authentic sense. His words teach us that selfish love is seeing the other as an object of one's property and not one where the soul manifests itself in a free and conscious choice. In the few passages we have read, his writing seems almost angelic, sometimes stubborn, other times his 'journey' becomes painful and difficult like that of a homeless traveler. Not everyone knows that the driving force of the world comes precisely from the word. The Author's life was very turbulent and when the tensions of the memory knock on his memory he feels the weight of the pain he experienced. When silence builds walls, he puts words to paper like stone upon stone. It is a bright time locked in the amphora of the past and some tears are barely contained, like the music of a dead. They are indescribable emotions like the angelic whisper of a spring that reminds us of Novalis' "Night Hymns". '. In them the elements mix and fragment despite their diversification, creating a ring of light even in horror. Lulushi sees that incessant movement where ants, cicadas, irrefutable calculations and theories are defined as "cases" because they are artfully manipulated. And now it is his conscience that speaks: 'I cannot raise the dead... free nature and death at the hands of the power that governs us with them... predict here and now another possible life and another death, it is only resurrection that we care about ” (Giorgio Agamben, Requiem for the West).

We are drenched in dystopian visions of certain elites emerging from the wretched environments of their rituals and feasts in every power. All this is negative and destructive for the new generations and toxic for today. Terrible tendencies create confusion, sadness, violence and depression. We live in a virtual world with zero feelings. We find elements that parade because they are convinced that appearance is the place of toys and the sum of the whole. They are not aware of anything and allow themselves to be humiliated and ridiculed as an object, in various possible ways. All this away from reason, beauty and sensuality. Creativity is in sharp decline, while mood disorders are in vogue. We are in the presence of "Carnival of Clowns" by Joan Mirò. A surrealist work where real elements are transformed into the unconscious. Astrit Lulushi knows the responsibility of life, he knows well when he had to improvise a boat and a helmsman and cross the sea of ​​infidelity, escape from the relentless violence of the homeland by fighting against the destructive force of "piranhas". '. He loves culture and owes it to him, because he knows that only culture makes us free and intrigue does not prevail over duty. Even in silence, his word is always pregnant. He knows that time stands in creation, that it is a scale and we are its fulcrum. As an authentic writer, he knows the magic of writing and the pain of its metamorphosis and does not allow his balance to be disturbed. Terrible visions unfold from the memories. He hears again the harvest of lamentations, the smell of gunpowder, the cry of children slaughtered like lambs, the shivers swallowed by the mud. He sees "cobras" plotting in living rooms, by the sea, and wolves selling concrete dreams. And I suggest using a phrase from Winston Churchill: "Never, never, never give up"

Two Poems by Sajid Soomro

In My Pocket 

In my pocket,

there's a 'helplessness'

that can only be bought 

with 'regret'... 

In my pocket, 

there's an old 'love' 

that's stapled 

and can't be claimed... 

In my pocket, 

there's a 'deadly disease'

that can't be diagnosed 

in any laboratory... 

In my pocket, 

there's a 'loneliness' 

that has spread its stench throughout my body... 

In my pocket,

there's a 'picture' with vibrant colors, but I'm colorblind... 

In my pocket, 

there's a 'tree' that's withered and filled with crows... 

In my pocket,

there's a 'hatred' that's thorny and gnawing at me from the inside... 

In my pocket,

there's a 'new curse'

that I got because

my love wasn't reciprocated... 

If I speak, it's painful...

If I listen, it's bitter...!

□

The Ink of Silence 

We gather 

our scattered pieces from the railway tracks,

and fate's bitter pills are sweetened by the

memories of love. 

We've tasted death and proclaimed our victory. 

We walk hand in hand with evening, 

exploring the garden of memories, 

but the paths of memory 

are not always easy to navigate. 

Our pockets are heavy with the weight of humiliation,

and we seek solace in the warmth of the sun.

We've experienced all the seasons of life, 

and the memories of love are now distant, 

like the colors of life that have faded.

Our touch remains sacred, 

and we've never truly connected with others; 

we're just sleepwalking through life. 

I'm writing with the ink of silence, 

and these words are not mine, but the whispers of the soul. 

The novel of life is full of crises and contradictions, 

and we're stuck in

the midst of it all.

In the end, what happened was that the shock 

of the night pierced

our hearts,

and the poem refused to end.

□

- Sajid Soomro

Hyderabad, Sindh, Pakistan 

Poet, Story Writer and Novelist Sajid Somro, was born on March 4, 1980, in Garhi Mori, district Khairpur Mirs, Sindh. His early education is completed in Garhi Mori and Sukkur. He is an MA in Sindhi Literature from the University of Sindh, Jamshoro.His published books are 'Campus Rolaiki' and 'Jamshoro (Memories), 'Bachri Aankh Ka Matam' (novel), 'Kahani Sans Leti Hai' (flash fiction)."

Butterflies of Peace by a Poem by Iris Calif

Butterflies of peace in the living halo voice of the home of the human Iris Eve flower of the heaven world  : Iris Calif

I am the dreamer of butterflies of peace between the halo flowers of the light of life that embrace in the flight of their wing, love, humanity, hope, human freedom in the living voice of God of Iris Eve of the heaven worlds.  

In the footsteps of God, the spirit wind breathes the life of the psalms of the human Iris flower of my heart

And in my spirit soul dancing a living dance of the virtue of the holy Zohar pure wild angels of my body 

In the blue-white valley of hidden dawn

I kneel with the wings of creations of the universal heaven-land 

The temple of holy hidden scriptures of heaven's sky of the Lord creator of the world

And in the fire crown of my body's ballet I am naked

Arises Iris Eve my bare body and soul

God   king of the angels of the world   brave Jacob

And in eternal fields of Iris my woman humankind soul lifting the living Jerusalem

And I will pace and breath the living holly halo of Canaan land of angels of the Star of David

The land of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses of Israel of my heaven world

And I am gazing the secret halo of my green eyes iris of Zion to the living mighty Lord of the world, Lord of the all land world

Our father in heaven, guard of Israel

And I will pray to the holy voice of the living God the light of my dreams

And in the living heart of the Torah of royal wings of the scripture heaven arises and grows iris of Canaan soaring

As conductor of eternal butterflies of peace

[The poem "Butterflies of Peace" was read by the poet Iris Calif at the opening of the exhibition-

"All rights reserved to the writer and poet Iris Calif"]

The poem "Butterflies of Peace" was read by the poet Iris Calif at the opening on the eve of the event of the Universal Exhibition-"Butterflies of Peace" which was introduced in Israe in June 2024 the Air Force House Gallery in Herzliya Together with 21 legendary poets from around the world and different countries and the best of Israeli artists of the modern era.

"We are The Butterflies of peace in the holy halo light flowers of the great God Embracing with our home land wings, love, humanity, hope and faith, The voice of Life, The human voice of the Living Freedom dream-Iris Calif "

Iris Calif, Resident of the State of Israel, poet, writer, translator of poetry (to Hebrew), and dancer. Iris is translating and edits 'world-wide poetry' in in the magazine for culture, literature and poetry in the "direction of the wind", edits international anthologies in the magazine and also in charge of all foreign connection for the internet magazine "in direction of the wind", editor and translator Universal Poetry at "Mokasini" Magazine Culture & Lifestyle Magazine, Editor and translator in the "World Poetry" of the literature website "Rooms", member of the Composers' Association of Hebrew authors and publishers in Israel named “ ACUM. Iris is Award Winner of 2023: The International Best Poets & POETS: THE JOURNAL OF RENDITION OF INTERNATIONAL POETRY (ITRC)[Multilingual] [China]

The Board of Directors of World Union of Poetry Magazines

November 18, 2023.

Iris was awarded a diploma from "The Russian Professional Writers Union" and the international magazine "Arina NN", registered in the Ministry of Culture of Russia for her contribution to world culture "International Poetic Community" 2022, She is the head of the Israeli liaison department of the Hong Kong Literature and Arts Magazine. She is also a member of the Association of artists and writers of the World SAPS. Iris is also serve on the editorial board of the World Poetry Yearbook 2024 (English edition)

She holds an honorary doctorate from the International Forum for Creativity, Humanity and Coexistence, Kingdom of Morocco. Iris is 50 years old: married and mother of three daughters.

Her three books were publisher:

In a fascinating (or magic) lane breathes (or blows) Lolita on On 2001

Wild moon on 2017, And The daughter of GOD on 2020.

She is currently working on her fourth book of scripture. Her poems have been published on radio, television, magazines in Israel and abroad, literary websites in Israel and around the world  , the Internet and newspapers international, and have been translated by international poets into Spanish, Bengali, Chinese, Russian Turkish, Nepali, Assamese, Arabic and Italian. 

Her poems have been presented in many prestigious exhibitions in Israel, and also at Israeli international prestigious exhibitions such as: 

The exhibition "Crowns of Winter" January 2023.  Featuring poems by seven international poets from different countries were presented that Iris translated and edited into Hebrew and poem of her that translated into Bengali, The exhibition "Black-Red-White", where poems by five poets were presented A world that Iris translated and edited into Hebrew and the universal exhibition "Butterflies of Peace" in which Iris presented in Hebrew the poems of 21 world poets from different countries around the world and her poems that were translated into Chinese, Italian, Spanish, and Arabic.

"Iris is a descendant of a lineage of Kabbalists, blessed with the prophecy of the spirit of the heart and the ability of communication and vision, which are expressed in her mystical and Kabbalistic writing endowed with spiritual touches of holy upper and hidden worlds. For her soul, this is a world of blessing to illuminate with the spirit of the Jewish voice from the depths of love, life, and faith in the Creator of the world-our Father in heaven "And as I soar with the flight of my soul, I will bring forth the halo light of my Jewish voice, eternally in the wings of the Dove of God spirit of the land-living peace" 

"And in the voice of the living god, my iris soul breathing the dance of living"

Her poetry reflects the inner journey of her soul, which looks through love, dreams life, and breathes holy worlds, in the hidden spirit, and is a symbol and expression of her victory over Anorexia, and her choice of choosing life and love with courage.

THE NEW BOOK: INTERVIEW WITH THE SPECTRUM OF LITERATURE ART AND JOURNALISM BY ANGELA KOSTA

The new book: INTERVIEW WITH THE SPECTRUM OF LITERATURE ART AND JOURNALISM published by the Fast Print Publishing House in Tirana (Albania), presents a wide, diverse and rich range of intellectuals from all over the world. Each of the interviewees, most of whom are not only writers or artists but also publishers and journalists, present in these interviews, to the spectrum of depth, their colossal consciousness, without prejudice or neglect, to give readers a vision as concrete as it is real, without complications or external influences. 

"Don't judge me for my successes but for all those times I fell and managed to get up", said Nelson Mandela, and this is precisely what is the key to the success of poets, writers, painters, musicians, athletes and many others. He also recovers with ruined knees, atrophied hands, dull eyes, mute mouths, deaf ears, physically but not psychologically and intellectually crippled. 

It is truly stimulating, but equally fascinating, the "pure image" of the feelings and emotions of their souls, not as a mirage or illusion, but as a fact, truth and determination, with the right steps that they cross, overcoming the beautiful but also equally the difficult journey, to reach the hearts of readers and art lovers, with pen or brush, with verses or inks wherever and whenever they are. 

A blank page is enough and, within a few seconds, under the intense muse, in it, the WHOLE begins and takes color and shape, reborn and blooming with the breath of Life itself, but, above all, it is realized and focuses on the essence of the Universe.

"The worst enemy of creativity is the lack of self-confidence", wrote the well-known poet Sylvia Plath some time ago, so every author, artist and journalist, puts and demonstrates with total confidence and mastery, the abstraction of nature, the immense and incalculable dimension of the existence of nature, the opposition, approval or negation of the "vision" of being and always remaining ONESELF. 

[By Angela Kosta, Executive Director of MIRIADE Magazine, Academic, journalist, writer, poet, essayist, literary critic, editor, translator]

Butterflies of Peace : international, social, humanistic, ethical and prestigious exhibition

"The living Spirit prayer of the universal poetry from the halo light of the home land that embracing in her wings a life" – Iris Calif 

"Butterflies of Peace"-Iris Calif

On June 2nd 2024, a one-of-a-kind international, social, humanistic, ethical and prestigious exhibition, "Butterflies of Peace", was opened on the upper level of the Air Force House Gallery in Herzliya. The name of the exhibition was chosen by the poet, writer, translator and editor of worldwide poetry, Iris Calif, and was inspired by her own poem of the same name. Curator and producer of the exhibition: Shuki Cohen – shukiart. 

Shuki Cohen: "I thought to myself, how was this exhibition, "Butterflies of Peace", born?

Well... this exhibition was dreamed up by one lady- the poet, writer and dancer Iris Calif, who also chose the name for the exhibition. The artists, painters, photographers and sculptors who took part in the exhibition are among the best Israeli artists in the modern era, alongside with 21 international poets from around the world and from different countries, whose beautiful poems Iris translated and edited into literary, spiritual and poetic Hebrew. Next to each poem, a biography and a photo of the poet was showcased. All the poems were printed on caps measuring 70 x 50 cm and the biographies on those measuring 30 x 50 cm".

Iris: "To me, the structure of the poem reflects the living body, while the words are the spirit of the soul. In the poems I highlighted certain sentences, which create an additional poem within the original one, and so I created the core worlds of the poem, one within the other. Each shade of color has a great meaning to my soul, and the whole set of colors reflects the colors of emotions of the rainbow of supreme nature. In all the poems my image is presented in the visual aspect, in artistic photographs of me combined with the paintings of the artist, and my eldest sister, Zehava, who combined the photos and paintings into magical and fascinating art". Iris also presented sixteen of her poems with her daughter, the poet and artist Noa Calif, who presented six poems combined with her own paintings. 

The international poets that took part in the exhibition are: Dr. Zhang Zhi, Dr. Jiang Yimao, Dr. Tang Shi – China, Aziz Mountassir – Morocco, Masudul Hoq – Bangladesh, Kamal Dhungana – Nepal, Angela Kosta – Albania, Eralieva Umutkan Polotovna -Kyrgyzstan, Jasna Gugić – Croatia, Arslan Bayır – Turkey, Anna Ferriero – Italy, Danielle Traykovic- Serbia, Carlos Jarquín- Nicaragua, Jorge Daniel Tejeda Palafox- Mexico, Алексей Калакутин- Russia, Mbizo Chirasha – Zimbabwe, Pedro Alfonso Morales – Nicaragua, Taghrid Bou Merhi – Lebanon– Brazil, Zbigniew Roth- Poland, Natalia Esquivel, Benít – Costa Rica, Dr. Shailesh Gupta Veer– India.

Iris Calif is an international writer, poet, dancer, editor and translator of poetry to Hebrew. She is in charge of foreign relations in the online culture, literature and poetry magazine "In Direction of the Wind" ("Bekiovn Hroh") and is a translator and an editor of world-wide poetry in the magazine, as well as in the culture and lifestyle magazine "Mokasini" and in the "World Poetry" section on the literature website "Rooms" ("Hadarim"). She is also a member of the Composers' Association of Hebrew authors and publishers in Israel named "ACUM". 

Iris received the 2023 award for International Best Poets & POETS: THE JOURNAL OF RENDITION OF INTERNATIONAL POETRY (ITRC) [Multilingual] [China]. She also holds a diploma from the "Russian Professional Writers Union" and the international magazine "Arina NN", registered in the Ministry of Culture of Russia, for her contribution to the culture world "International Poetic Community" 2022.

Iris is the head of the Israeli liaison department of the Hong Kong Literature and Arts Magazine and a member of the Association of artists and writers of the World SAPS. She takes part in the editorial board of the World Poetry Yearbook 2024 (English edition) and holds an honorary doctorate from the International Forum for Creativity, Humanity and Coexistence, Kingdom of Morocco. 

Iris is a descendant of a lineage of Kabbalists, blessed with the prophecy of the spirit of the heart and the ability of communication and vision, which are expressed in her mystical and Kabbalistic writing, endowed with spiritual touches of holy upper and hidden worlds. For her, it is a blessing to shine with the spirit of the Jewish voice from the depths of love, life, and faith in the creator of the world- our father in heaven

"And as I soar with the flight of my spirit soul, I will carry the holy halo of the light of my Jewish loving voice, in the eternally world of the wings of the Dove of God spirit of the land-living peace"-Iris Calif

Three of Iris's books have already been published: "In a fascinating lane breathes Lolita" (2001), "Wild moon" (2017), and "The daughter of God" (2020), and she is currently working on her fourth book. Her poems have been published and read on the radio, on television, on the internet, in national and international magazines and newspapers and in anthologies around the world, and were translated by international poets into numerous languages such as Spanish, Bengali, Nepali, Arabic, Chinese, Turkish, Assamese, Russian, Albanian and Italian. 

Iris's poems were presented in many prestigious and international exhibitions in Israel such as "Crowns of Winter" (January 2023), where a poem of hers translated into Bengali was displayed alongside poems by seven international poets, each translated and edited into Hebrew by her. Also the exhibition "Black-Red-White" displayed Iris's translated versions of poems written by five international poets. Most recently, Iris's poems, also translated into Chinese, Italian, Spanish and Arabic, were presented in the universal exhibition "Butterflies of Peace", which also included the poems of 21 poets from around the world, translated by Iris into Hebrew.

Iris's poetry reflects the inner journey of her soul, which looks through love, dreams of life and breathes holy and hidden worlds. Her poetry is a symbol and an expression of her victory over anorexia and her courageous decision to choose life and love.

"And in my living Iris soul, my spirit dances the living voice of the holy God life" -Iris Calif

On the opening night of "Butterflies of Peace", Yehudit Malik Shiran attended and read a unique and fascinating article about Iris Calif. Yehudit Malik Shiran is an author, poet, journalist, literary critic, editor, founder of "On the Way" magazine, owner of "Efi-Log" radio, director of the center for creative writing named after Shoshana Malik, and publisher of "Bat-Or" publishing company. Her article addressed Iris's exemplary poetry and translations, that shine as a dance of light and holiness and bear poetry from the ancient Kabbalah's sacred language, brilliance and hidden higher worlds, all of which are unique in the Israeli literary and cultural landscape. 

"A poem and its mission", an article by Yehudit Malik Shiran:

It's an honor to be here tonight at the "Butterflies of Peace" exhibition, as a world peace ambassador for poetry, love and compassion. This exhibition's curator is Shuki Cohen, who combined painters, sculptors, two Israeli poets- a mother and her daughter, Iris and Noa Calif, and 21 international poets in an exhibition where poetry speaks art and art speaks poetry.

Iris Calif is a writer, dancer, poet, translator and editor of worldwide poetry. Her poetry includes a dance of light and holiness in its writing and movement. She is a freedom fighter, married to Tzachi and a mother of three daughters, one of whom, Noa, won a prize in the national youth writing competition named after the Malik family, which I have been managing for about eleven years. Noa's poetry is different from Iris's and can be found in the book "The Eternal Lands", alongside her beautiful paintings.

Iris's poetry is very unique in the Israeli literary and cultural landscape, due to the language innovations that she embeds in her poems, like the cohen's breastplate stones embedded in his white robe. Her poetry is the ancient poetry of Kabbalah which includes the sacred language, the Zohar, hidden higher worlds, the spirit of life, love, creation, erupting femininity and soft motherhood.

Iris' poetry is prophetic poetry

"In God's garment to my body I clear silence The wind, and the summer candle is lit by a holy life, reigns in the crown of winter Writings of my soul/The evening creates my passion that gives birth to existence" (page 19). "

 The garment of prophecy changes the image and appearance. The prophetic writings Iris foretells will be brought by the winter with the sounds of water which is rain and the tears of the body and soul. "The Crown of Wind", the scriptures are meant to purify the body and the mind and maintain the balance in both. The evening is compared to the night which creates a desire for life, a desire for a sense of mission, a desire for existence. And how do we know she accepted the mission upon herself? Unlike the prophets Jeremiah, Isaiah and Ezekiel, who passed tests to get their position, and Jonah who was chosen to be a prophet yet refused, she did not pass a mental test, but a series of physical tests I would call life lessons, as she accepts the mission with these words: "I am the iris, the ballerina of your life dancing in the land of love/ As the vine, the stems of my soul are formed" (page 22). 

"I am the holy Iris in the pouring rain, fear streams through me... tiny is my tear that drops" (page 29).

Only holy individuals, who are humble and modest, are chosen to be the speakers of God's voice. She comes to him without any coverings, naked as on the day she was born, and God puts the garment of prophecy on her body. The nudity motif appears throughout all the poems in the book "Daughter of God". In this motif, she is ready for duty. I come as I am, "I am naked drumming forever in the spirit of your shadows/engraving love in the nature of my mercy" (page 31).

And in another poem "In front of your eyes I wander naked" (page 34).

"I am the iris Eve colliding in the human being's rib dripping my naked love" (page 36).

The nudity motif has something sacred about the prophetic role assigned to her and about being a man's wife, a beloved wife, a mother of three daughters. The language of prophecy is also divided into two: on the mystical level she accepted the role, on the realistic level she fulfilled her motherhood and tuned her man to "trumpeter of the desert",

 "My beloved; you are the one racing my heart filled with heaven's irises as a woman in your shadows, as a human being in my blood" (page 39).

About the language of poetry, editing and translation

Beyond the poetry that emanates from the gates of the Zohar and the spiritual world, she chooses to translate 21 poets from around the world in her own language and leaves her mark on the translation.

Angela Kosta

Dr. Zhang Zhi

Dr. Aziz Mountassir

Eralieva Umutkan Polotovna

Dr. Jiang Yimao

Dr. Tang Shi

Jasna Gugić

Kamal Dhungana

Danijela Trajković

Arslan Bayır

Taghrid BouMerhi

Masudul Hoq

Carlos Javier Jarquín

Anna Ferriero

Natalia Esquivel Benitez

Zbigniew Roth

Dr. Shailesh Gupta Veer

Pedro Alfonso Morales Ruiz

Jorge Daniel Tejeda Palafox

Mbizo WaChirasha

Alexey Evgenievich Kalkutin

What do you think? Is it easy to translate poetry? Everything can be translated except for one thing, poetry cannot be translated from foreign languages into Hebrew. 

The act of translation is difficult, it doesn't pass through the verbal layers of the language, neither in the spoken word nor the sophisticated language. What was the poet's intention when he wrote his poem? What was she trying to convey through the expressions in her mother's tongue? Expressions that are difficult to find in another language. 

Translation deals with the idea, the topic that the poets wrote about. Sometimes 3 lines are a whole world in poetry. The ability to choose 21 poets from around the world in order to translate their ideas and edit them in the sacred language of Iris Calif is a difficult job that requires hours of investment. In the exhibition "Butterflies of Peace" we'll meet the 21 poets I have just presented and Iris's translation and editing, which are a heavenly gift, an introduction to the sensitive worlds of the poets, who think about compassion, love of humanity, peace and brotherhood. Translating the poetry of their lives into Hebrew is a gift to all and Iris Calif does it with great love. Weaving us threads of happiness in a world full of suffering, pain and hatred. Teaching us that it's also possible to love. Through her translations it's possible to pass on a message of human compassion, human dignity and freedom to the world, and hopefully we'll see our hostages return home and this insane war we've gotten into finally come to an end and brings peace, just like our exhibition that reaches out for internal, regional and global peace.

The poet Iris Calif:

"Butterflies of Peace" is an exhibition that was born from the dream for peace and the light of life, love, hope, faith, humanity, the voice of nature and freedom of the humankind. 

I am grateful for the privilege to share my poems together with my beloved daughter, the poet Noa Calif, the best Israeli artists of the modern era and 21 legendary and unique international poets from different countries: China, Morocco, Bangladesh, Nepal, Albania, Kazakhstan, Croatia, Turkey, Serbia, Italy, Nicaragua, Mexico, Zimbabwe, Brazil, Lebanon, Poland, India and Russia, who all dream of peace, the light of life, love, hope and humanity, my dear brothers and sisters of the spirit of the soul, who love Israel. I have chosen to present and shine a light on their beautiful and unique poetry in this humanistic and social exhibition with the best Israeli artists of the modern era. Together we become as one in the rainbow of heaven's spirit and in the light of God as butterflies of peace among the flowers of the light of life, embracing love, humanity, hope, faith and the voice of human freedom in the flight of our wings. We are all equal, children of God, creatures of creation, regardless of color, race, religion, nationality and sex, who all dream of life, peace, love, hope and humanity.

The exhibition featured some of Iris's beautiful poems that were translated into Italian, Spanish, Arabic and Chinese by international poets and were published in magazines and newspapers around the world: in Italian: Angela Kosta – Albania, in Chinese: Dr. Zhang Zhi – China, in Arabic: Dr. Taghrid Bou Merhi – Lebanon-Brazil, in Spanish: Jorge Daniel Tejeda Palafox – Mexico.

On the exhibition's opening evening preformed and sang three of his own songs: 

Yossi Appelbaum, the singer, musical producer, soundtrack designer and composer in the Israeli and international film industry for about 30 years, and a lecturer on the subject. Five-time winner of the Israel Film Academy Awards and winner of the Television Academy Award for the soundtracks of the series " The Arbitrator", "Shtisel" and "Fauda".

Gave speeches:

Naama Meshiach Cohen – editor and founder of the prestigious culture and lifestyle magazine "Mokasini". Naama talked about Calif's unique poetry and about working with her as an editor and a translator of universal poetry in "Mokasini " and read Iris's poem "In the Israel moon of my living heart the human universal Iris flower of World of Peace". The poem was published in many magazines around the world and was translated into foreign languages.

Yehudit Malik Shiran – poet, journalist, literary critic, editor, founder of "On the Way" magazine, owner of "Efi-Log" radio, director of the center for creative writing named after Shoshana Malik, and publisher of "Bat-Or" publishing company. She read a unique article about Iris's translations and poems, as well as Noa's, who in 2019 was among the winners of the national youth writing competition named after Chaim, Shoshana and Efi Malik. Yehudit read the poem that Noa wrote in 2019 "When a hero falls", which won in the national youth writing competition. 

These are the names of the painters, photographers and sculptors who took part in the exhibition and who are among the best Israeli artists of the modern era: Zehava Neter, Dina Zeifer, Yaffit Saranga, Haim Kalderon, Helen Onger, Rebecca Nevo, the photographer Yael Ben Ishar, the sculptures Dov Barda, Hana Dror, Batya Gazit and Karmi Aldama.

King of the angels of the world, the Holy One, blessed be He, father of voice and all worlds, I, the iris, kneel my love before you in thanks that all is good and blessed in your words – Amen. From my soul I carry an eternal prayer, that our hostages and our dear and beloved soldiers will return home safely and quickly, and that the war will come to an end. We love you all and pray for your return - Amen. Am Israel Chai! 

"Butterflies of Peace" - a direct link to the YouTube video that presents the legendary and universal exhibition that was shown on the upper level of the Air Force Base Herzliya Gallery on June 2024 –Israel. The poet Iris Calif and her daughter, the poet and artist Noa Calif, together with 21 legendary and unique international poets and their beautiful poetry, edited and translated by Iris Calif into spiritual, literary and poetic Hebrew and the best Israeli artists of the modern era - curator and producer of the exhibition: Shuki Cohen – shukiart.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_cacmzwk5OM

"We are The Butterflies of peace in the holy halo light flowers of the great God Embracing with our home land wings, love, humanity, hope and faith, The voice of Life, The human voice of the Living Freedom dream-Iris Calif "

[The Article is translated by: Yarden Zehavi

Literary quotes translated into English by the writer and poet: Iris Calif]