Althouse: "Haji Gora Haji talks to ghosts. At nearly 85, he’s one of Zanzibar’s most revered elders, and the archipelago’s unofficial poet laureate."

August 20, 2018

"Haji Gora Haji talks to ghosts. At nearly 85, he’s one of Zanzibar’s most revered elders, and the archipelago’s unofficial poet laureate."

"He spends his mornings in a bed draped with mosquito nets, his mind wandering between the real world of his small, sun-baked room in Bububu, a fishing village five miles north of Zanzibar’s capital city, and the imagined world of the dead. 'My father has returned to a state of childhood, as it’s written in the Koran,' says his son.... 'It’s our duty to care for him and make sure [he] is remembered.'... Despite his many achievements, Haji Gora lives in poverty and virtual isolation.... He often refers to imaginary meetings with scholars and publishers. It seems he wants to get back to the business of poetry, his enduring love, but is waylaid on this threshold, a man between two worlds."

From "Between Worlds/A family struggles to save the work of Zanzibar’s greatest poet" (Poetry Foundation).

19 comments:

Rob said...: A good writer who refers to imaginary meetings--this guy ought to get a job with the New York Times.; 8/20/18, 6:00 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: One day, we will leave the world where people talk to ghosts, and we will be better.; 8/20/18, 6:34 PM
Two-eyed Jack said...: Poetry in translation can never really work.

We need to preserve the work of our own poets. Here is Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem The Oak:

Live thy Life,
Young and old,
Like yon oak,
Bright in spring,
Living gold;

Summer-rich
Then; and then
Autumn-changed
Soberer-hued
Gold again.

All his leaves
Fall'n at length,
Look, he stands,
Trunk and bough
Naked strength.; 8/20/18, 6:39 PM
Tom T. said...: Dementia is a terrible thing.; 8/20/18, 7:02 PM
madAsHell said...: 'My father has returned to a state of childhood, as it’s written in the Koran'

The Koran documents dementia. I find that fascinating.

I don't believe the Bible mentions dementia, but some of the old testament does include some far out stories!!; 8/20/18, 7:22 PM
traditionalguy said...: He dreams dreams. I bet Sigmund Freud did too.; 8/20/18, 7:40 PM
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Henry said...: He took over for Freddy Mercury.; 8/20/18, 7:54 PM
Bay Area Guy said...: I've got the old man's car
I've got a jazz guitar
I've got a tab at Zanzibar
Tonight that's where I'll be

Zanzibar, Billy Joel (1978); 8/20/18, 8:00 PM
Henry said...: Joking aside, that's a fascinating read. It's sad. The old man's mind has slipped and his work has been stolen with little acknowledgement and even less payment. But I don't think it's tragic. He's marked his world, as a poet, and not many poets can say that.; 8/20/18, 8:08 PM
brylun said...: I stayed at the Blue Bay Beach Resort on the Indian Ocean side of the island after climbing Kilimanjaro 10 years ago this Thanksgiving. Mosquito nets are a necessity in that part of the world even at the 5-star resorts.; 8/20/18, 8:10 PM
wildswan said...: Merely by going to work at the NYT, the same thing seems to have happened to Sarah ("Die, white goblins, die") Jeong. Here's one typical recent tweet.
✔
@sarahjeong
Walmart shares up 10% on news of online sales lift https://www.bbc.com/news/business-45210066 …

11:42 AM - Aug 16, 2018

Here's another even more topical:
@sarahjeong
Nothing like a cool glass of water on a warm day!
(with pic of glass of water)

11:25 AM - Aug 18, 2018

Help Sarah by writing some exciting Wisconsin tweets.

31,500 years ago today the Laurentide glaciation began its advance into Wisconsin.

The use of "Cheesehead" began as unempathic term towards Dutch people during World War II, when the brutal Nazis were known to trigger the Dutch by saying "cheeseheads. (Dutch: kaaskop)"

"The “partnership” between Rodgers and the Packers should ensure that any deal he signs is good for him and good for the franchise."
https://packerswire.usatoday.com/2018/08/20/aaron-rodgers-goal-for-next-contract-both-sides-are-happy/; 8/20/18, 8:24 PM
D. said...: africa wins again; 8/20/18, 8:50 PM
Clyde said...: Haji Gora Haji's fate is the same as 99.99999% of humanity: To become obscure and then forgotten. A century from now, who will remember him? His words may be written down in books on dusty shelves that scholars may occasionally peruse, but the cultural river of Zanzibar and Tanzania will have moved on, dozens of styles and forms replaced and replaced again by newer ones. Go to any museum or library and see the works of 19th Century greats, and chances are that 99% of the people who see them will say, "Who?" They may like the painting or sculpture, the enduring work that remains after the artist has long since vanished, but of the artist himself, they remember nothing. And those are the people who left enduring works deemed worth preserving and had a degree of fame or notoriety in their day, now reduced to footnotes.; 8/21/18, 4:16 AM
brylun said...: The same can be said of this blog.; 8/21/18, 5:23 AM
Clyde said...: Of course. Althouse and you and I belong to that 99.99999% of humanity, too. The ones who don't, the Michelangelos and the Shakespeares and the George Washingtons and the Genghis Khans, the ones who are remembered for their famous or infamous creations and deeds, are usually reduced to caricatures or icons. They are not forgotten, but they are often misremembered.; 8/21/18, 6:44 AM
gerry said...: Who was it that asserted that 99% of what humans do is crap?; 8/21/18, 8:55 AM
art.the.nerd said...: > gerry said...
> Who was it that asserted that 99% of what humans do is crap?

Theodore Sturgeon; 8/21/18, 11:51 AM
Anonymous said...: Blogger The Crack Emcee said...
One day, we will leave the world where people talk to ghosts, and we will be better.

8/20/18, 6:34 PM

-------------------------------------------

One day this world will end, and all that will be left is the ghosts.; 8/21/18, 11:54 AM