New Academic Project to Translate Morocco’s ‘Malhun Poems’

Rabat – Two translators in the US have started a project to translate Moroccan Malhun poems from six prominent poets into English.

Melanie Magidow, a translator and academic specializing in Arabic translation, has teamed up with Mbarek Sryfi, a poet-translator at the University of Pennsylvania, to bring the work of six Moroccan poets to English.

The poets included in the project are Abdelaziz El Maghraoui, Jilali Mtird, Mohamed Ben Ali Weld Arzin, Kaddour El Alamy, Etthamy El Mdaghri, and El Makki ben Elkorshi.

The six poets are among the most prominent in Moroccan history and wrote countless Malhun pieces between the fifteenth and twentieth centuries.

The pair has also succeeded in getting the support of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), an agency of the federal US government that offers funding and support for artistic projects throughout the country.

The pair earned a translation grant under the Literature Fellowships program of the agency this year.

“In my literary translations, I aim first to entertain and inform the many readers of English who seek access to Arabic literature,” Magidow said in her personal statement to the NEA.

“This genre of poetry has never before been published in a book-length form in English. We are excited to undertake this exciting project!” she added.

Magidow has in the past undertaken different academic projects related to the subject, such as articles in academic journals about the artform and an article in the Encyclopaedia of Islam.

Malhun (meaning “melodic” in Arabic) is a form of poetry or music that is produced for both written and spoken forms. Its origins are historically traced to Sijilmassa in Morocco.

Malhun poems traditionally have two essential elements: “Aqsam,” verses sung solo, and “Harba,” a refrain that is placed between them. “Dridka” is also a more simplified version of the Harba, which signifies the end of the poem.

The new project comes in the midst of efforts by other academics to preserve the artform and expand its reach. The Academy of the Kingdom of Morocco released a “Malhun Encyclopedia” which includes 11 volumes of the works of famous Moroccan poets.