John Asfour

John Asfour (Arabic: جون عصفور‎) was a Lebanese–Canadian poet, writer, and teacher. At the age of 13, a grenade exploded in his face, blinding him during the Lebanese crisis of 1958.[1][2]

John Mikhail Asfour
Born1945
Aitanite, Lebanon
DiedNovember 2014
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
OccupationPoet, writer, teacher, translator, activist

After multiple unsuccessful attempts to restore his sight, he moved to Canada in 1968.[3] After receiving his PhD in poetry from McGill University, he spent his career as a professor of literature and resided in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.[4]

He was the author of 5 volumes of poetry in English, and two in Arabic, he selected, edited and translated into English the landmark anthology When the Words Burn: An Anthology of Modern Arabic Poetry and co-authored with his wife and fellow author Alison Burch a volume of selected poems by Muhammad al-Maghut entitled Joy is not my Profession. Asfour was known for his readings and lectures, which were entirely memorized due to his lack of sight.[5]

Asfour was President of the Canadian Arab Federation from 1996-2002, and spoke out against revisions to the anti-terrorism bill C-36 after the September 11 attacks. In 2005 and 2007, he organized and held two conferences on Arab Immigrants, their rights and duties for the Ministry of Immigration of Quebec.

Awards
  • F.G. Bressani Literary Prize
  • Canada Council for the Arts Joseph Staford award,
  • 2009: Inaugural Writer-in-Residence, Historic Joy Kogawa House, Vancouver B.C.[6]
  • 2001–2004: Chair of the Advisory Committee on Arab and Moslem Affairs for the Ministry of Canadian Multiculturalism
  • 1996–2002: President of the Canadian Arab Federation

Publications

John Asfour Publications include:

Books
French

2014: Les Yeux Bandés par John Asfour traduit par Jean-Pierre Pelletier éditions Le Noroît, 95 pp.

2009: Nisan : poésie par John Asfour traduit par Nadine Ltaif éditions Le Noroît, 103 pp.

English

2016: Mirrors of Absence, Guernica, 2015

2012: V6A: Writing from Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside Edited by: John Mikhail Asfour and Elee Kraljii Gardiner, forward by Gary Geddes Arsenal Pulp Press, Vancouver, B.C.

2011: Blindfold

2009: Thursdays 2: Writings from the Carnegie Centre Edited by: Elee Kraljii Gardiner and John Mikhail Asfour Otter Press, Vancouver, B.C.

1997: Fields of My Blood (poetry), Emperyal Press, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

1994: Joy is Not My Profession: Selected Poems of Muhammad al-Maghut, trans. and introd. Co-author A. Burch, Véhicule Press, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

1994 and 1995: Corridors: A Concordia Anthology (poetry & fiction), Assoc. Editor. Downtown Press, Montreal.

1992: One Fish From the Rooftop (poetry), Cormorant Books, Maxville, Canada. winner of the 1994 F.G. Bressani Literary Prize (Vancouver, B.C.). Trans. into Arabic as Samakah min ala al-sath (see below)

1988, 1992: When The Words Burn: An Anthology of Modern Arabic Poetry, & 1993, 1995 1945 – 1987, selected, translated into English and introd., Cormorant Books, Maxville, Canada. Second ed., 1992.

• Short-listed for the League of Poets Award (1990) and the John Glassco Award for Translation (1990) • Published for distribution in the Middle East by American Univ. in Cairo Press, Cairo, Egypt (1993), and by Inforium Press, Ankara, Turkey (1995)

1981: Land of Flowers and Guns (poetry), introd. Louis Dudek, D.C. Books, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Trans. into Arabic as Wurud wa-banadiq (see below)

1976: Nisan: A Book of Poetry, Fiddlehead Books, Univ. of New Brunswick Press, Fredericton, Canada

Arabic

2000: Wurud wa-banadiq (Flowers and Guns; trans. from English to Arabic). Author & trans. Co-translator Hatim Salman. Bisan Press, Beirut and Damascus.

2000: Samakah min ala al-sath (One Fish from the Rooftop; trans. from English to Arabic). Author & trans. Co-translator Abd al-Hakim Ajhar. Bisan Press, Beirut and Damascus.

2002: Hariq al-Kalimat (When the Words Burn; trans. from English to Arabic). Trans. Mona Fadel. Amwaj Press, Beirut and Damascus.

Articles
English

2008: Saadi Youssef: a poet in exile, The Montreal Gazette, Montreal Canada

2005: Muhammad al-Maghut: the voice of the voiceless, The Montreal Gazette, Montreal Canada

1993: Entry for "Muhammad al-Maghut" in the Encyclopedia of World Literature in the Twentieth Century, New York (The Continuum Publishing Company), Vol. V., pp. 402–03. Ed. Steven Serafin & Walter Glanze

1989: "Adonis and Muhammad al Maghut: Two Voices in a Burning Land," Journal of Arabic Literature, Glasgow, Scotland, Vol. XX, pp. 10–30. (Refereed)

1989: "Muhammad al Maghut and the Surplus Man," Edebiyat, (Univ. of Penn.), New Series Vol. I, No. 2, pp. 23–40. Co-author A. Burch

Poems & Translations: (English)

1987 ff.: Poems and translations in: • North American periodicals—e.g., PRISM international, Zymergy, Mizna, Parnassus, Chelsea, Absynthe • newspapers—e.g., The Toronto Star, The Globe and Mail, The Ottawa Citizen, the Gazette

• anthologies—e.g., The Signal Anthology, Montreal (Véhicule Press, 1993); TransLit Calgary (ATIA, 1994)

• literary broadcasts—radio (BBC, CJAD, CJFM) and television (CF Cable, CBC)

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 9, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Montreal Gazette: Poetic voices from near and far – Different traditions, styles and themes are on display
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved February 19, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. http://thursdayspoems.wordpress.com/2009/06/14/editing-workshop-with-john-asfour-and-elee-kraljii-gardiner/
  5. https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/farewell-to-montreal-poet-john-asfour
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 5, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)


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