WEBVTT

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It's really a great honor to be
here in this fabulous building

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we got a tour of this morning,
and a great joy and pleasure

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to be part of the tradition
of the Poetry Center.

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I've been in the States
now for a month, giving

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readings of medieval poetry.

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And Taha and my wife Adina
arrived just last night

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and traveled very
far from Jerusalem--

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Adina from Jerusalem,
Taha from Nazareth.

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It's not such an easy trip.

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Over breakfast this morning, I
told the Honors class today--

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Taha met me over
breakfast we haven't

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seen each other for a couple
of months and he said,

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if you want to eat
a camel, it's best

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to chop it up into
little pieces first.

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Translation-- we didn't
need any commentary,

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but we understood this man-- if
you want to fly from Tel Aviv

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to Tucson, first you should
work your way across the country

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slowly.

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If you're Taha's age--

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how old are you now?

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Yeah.

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How old are you?

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Well, 780 years.

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[LAUGHTER]

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The planes are not made for
someone who's 780 years old,

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but he's trying.

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And he had all day to rest.

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And so we'll give it
our best shot tonight.

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I will read.

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Taha will talk to you a
little bit as a cup of coffee

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he just had takes effect.

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And he will read
in Arabic, and then

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I'll read the poems in English,
and we'll see how it goes.

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Let me just get my watch out
so we can see where we are.

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OK.

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And we'll start with a poem
from So What, called "Warning."

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Good.

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قبل كل شيء أريد أن أشكر
هؤلاء الذين جعلوا هذا الاجتماع ممكنًا

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He wants to thank
everybody first

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for coming and for
convening this gathering.

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وأشكر هؤلاء الذين قدموا

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بالإنجليزية أفضل.


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OK.

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OK, otherwise I have to be
a simultaneous translator.

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إلى هواة الصيد
وشُداة القنص!

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لا تصوبوا غداراتكم إلى فرحي

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فهو لا يساوي ثمن الخرطوشة
تُسدد باتجاهه

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فما ترونه أنيقًا وسريعًا كغزال

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يفر في كل اتجاه
كديك حجل

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ليس فرحًا
صدقوني

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فرحي لا علاقة له بالفرح.

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"Warning lovers of hunting and
beginners seeking your prey.

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Don't aim your rifles
at my happiness, which

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isn't worth the price of the
bullet you'd waste on it.

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What seems to you so nimble
and fine, like a fawn,

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and flees every which way like
a partridge isn't happiness.

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Trust me, my happiness bears
no relation to happiness."