Live Encounters Arab Women Poets & Writers June 2025
A White Space, poems by Mastoura Musfar Al-Arabi.
Translated from Arabic by Dr. Salwa Gouda.
A White Space
Between me and others,
there is a white space
a shadow leaning toward the heart,
a tendency to overlook.
Life is simple:
it asks that we cast off our shoulders
the burden of suspicion,
that we indulge in whiteness.
Between me and others,
there is another poem, spoken without confusion,
a regal desire
gazing toward what comes
with hanging dreams and wide questions.
About a Biography in Water
Like a hand waving in the air,
Like a traveler without the furnishing of a path,
As the bow hums before an intended strike,
I chose not to reclaim from the tale
my forgotten role
and I crossed eternity alone!
About a biography in water,
I thirst
to test my singularity.
My anxiety is a skittish gazelle in the wind,
reading what it can of the blood of disappointments,
mixing the fire of my days with the honey of my rebellion.
No Way to Sway Me
I believed in myself,
so I plucked the apples of misguidance alone,
and I drank alone.
I am the entire lexicon of femininity,
all of it,
and water is my aim!
Washed in cold to my very end,
I let the windows crave,
and I love my coldness!
I am my pride
no way to sway me,
so no proof can save you,
and no doors remain beyond me!
© Mastoura Musfar Al-Arabi
Dr Salwa Gouda is an accomplished Egyptian literary translator, critic, and academic affiliated with the English Language and Literature Department at Ain Shams University. Holding a PhD in English literature and criticism, Dr. Gouda pursued her education at both Ain Shams University and California State University, San Bernardino. She has authored several academic works, including Lectures in English Poetry and Introduction to Modern Literary Criticism, among others. Dr. Gouda also played a significant role in translating The Arab Encyclopedia for Pioneers, a comprehensive project featuring poets, philosophers, historians, and literary figures, conducted under the auspices of UNESCO. Recently, her poetry translations have been featured in a poetry anthology published by Alien Buddha Press in Arizona, USA. Her work has also appeared in numerous international literary magazines, further solidifying her contributions to the field of literary translation and criticism.
Mastoura Musfar Al-Arabi is a prominent Saudi poet, literary critic, and academic specializing in modern literature and criticism. An influential cultural figure, she co-founded the Professional Literature Society under the Ministry of Culture, chaired the Poetry Platform at the Arab Poetry Academy, and served on cultural committees for major events including Jeddah Book Fair and Okaz Cultural Market. Her poetry has been translated into Spanish and English, featured in international festivals across the Arab world, and included in the Encyclopedia of Arab Women’s Poetry (2021). Her notable publications include poetry collections like “What Confused Me… What I Never Left” (2020) and critical works such as “Meaning-Making in Saudi Poetry” (2020), with her creative and academic contributions being the subject of scholarly studies and the critical book “Revelations of Meaning” analyzing her poetic works.