Today, Saturday, August 19, 2023, the Libya Academy for Advanced Studies organized a symposium to celebrate the publication of the collection Mirror of Time by the poet Ali Bashir Al-Huni, in the hall of the Libya Academy for Advanced Studies in Benghazi, with an exhibition of plastic art by the artist Salah Al-Falah, in the presence of a group of professors, writers, interested people, artists, poets, creators, and actors. About civil, community, cultural and charitable associations, the poet’s family and his companions.
The symposium was moderated by Mr. Zayed Mahmoud, introducing the poet and his educational and achievement career. He was born in Benghazi in 1954, and worked as an employee at the General Authority for Culture. He also worked as a linguistic auditor, press director, and designer. He is a poet in classical and colloquial Arabic, in addition to lyric poetry and writing theatrical texts. He has a hobby in inventions, including: the Happiness Road game, which includes a large doll representing a Libyan woman in her costume who is milling and singing, and another that is sifting flour. He also worked on making animation in 1993, and he is a member of several institutions and charitable societies, and he has a distinguished activity in that. He participated in several exhibitions at home and abroad, won many awards, and conducted several audio, video and press interviews with him.
Then the poet Ali Al-Huni came forward to extend his thanks and appreciation to everyone who contributed to the printing of his first poetry collection, starting with his family and companions, and even the family of the Libya Academy for Advanced Studies.
Then, Professor Salama Al-Barki, Vice President of the National Council for Libyan Women, spoke about Professor Al-Shaer’s interest in women’s issues, his defense of them, and his contribution to charitable work.
Then the social media advisor, Khairiya Al-Farjani, participated and spoke about Professor Al-Houni’s contributions to social work and community activity with full enthusiasm.
Then there was an intervention by artist Professor Abdel Basset Al-Jared, in which he talked about poets and artists and their important roles and people’s ingratitude and neglect of them, and called on governments and officials to stand with them.
Then a presentation entitled: Values in the Diwan of Al-Huni, presented by Dr. Muhammad Al-Fitouri, in which he talked about the Libyan achievements and their importance in difficult circumstances, the interest of Libyan figures in poetry, their creativity in its beautiful rhetorical forms, and their commitment to the Hebron Seas, and gave examples of Libyan poetry from several different centuries, through which he shows their commitment to meter, the power of expression, and the formulation of rhetorical and expressive words, He pointed to contemporary poetic problems in terms of non-adherence to meter, lack of interest in science, and lack of interest in dictionaries and vocabulary that present ideas in an exquisite form. He moved on to talk about values and worth, their definition, importance and role, and Al-Huni’s interest in them in his collection despite its small size, as the number of poems in… His eighty-five-page collection contains fifty-one poems, 90% of which talk about cognitive, moral, life, environmental, intellectual, societal and spatial values. He gave analytical examples from the collection Mirror of Time on a set of values, with detail and explanation, and from his poetry on values:
Long live the teacher, for he is the secret of our existence*** and he has compassion in all that it means ([1])
The book has always been a means of collecting thought in our hands ([2])
Revive heritage and master its revival *** Heritage is civilization and giving ([3])
The language of Arabism and the Qur’an is its cradle*** it has extended bridges of measure and balance ([4])
Cities with long coastlines are scattered, but the goodness on their soil revives them ([5])
The earth has called out for help from its people, and the fate of the return of its glory is in its hands ([6])
We achieve hopes through our struggle. With knowledge, we reach the pinnacle of greatness ([7])
Then the intervention of Dr. Arif Al-Nayed, entitled: Engineering and innovation according to Professor Al-Houni, its early emergence, the importance of caring for it and paying attention, and the necessity of holding a special exhibition for the works and inventions of Professor Al-Houni, which are important and wonderful.
In the honoring section, the poet Professor Ali Al-Houni was honored with a shield of excellence and creativity, and a certificate of thanks and appreciation for his distinguished work. Professor Najla Al-Houni, the poet’s niece, was also honored for her interest in the poetry of Professor Ali Al-Houni, writing it down, documenting it, spreading it, preserving it, and striving to publish it. The artist Salah Al-Falah was also honored for his participation in the Fine Arts Exhibition.
At the end of the meeting, the poet Professor Ali Al-Huni presented a poem in classical Arabic and two colloquial poems, which brought joy to the attendees and warmed their ears.
The President of the Libya Academy for Advanced Studies also met on the sidelines of the meeting with a group of professors, those interested in cultural work, and leaders of some cultural and artistic institutions, and it was agreed on the necessity of holding workshops and introduction sessions for joint work in the cultural and cognitive field. The Heart of the World Organization for Cultural and Social Heritage handed over a certificate of thanks and appreciation to the Academy. Libya for Advanced Studies for the efforts made in the Libyan knowledge space and providing opportunities and supporting qualified people.
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([1]) Diwan Mirror of Time, Ali Bashir Al-Huni, Libya Academy for Advanced Studies, 1st edition, 2023, p. 68.
([2]) Diwan Mirror of Time, Ali Bashir Al-Huni, Libya Academy for Advanced Studies, 1st edition, 2023, p. 10.
([3]) Diwan Mirror of Time, Ali Bashir Al-Huni, Libya Academy for Advanced Studies, 1st edition, 2023, p. 70.
([4]) Diwan Mirror of Time, Ali Bashir Al-Houni, Libya Academy for Advanced Studies, 1st edition, 2023, p. 14.
([5]) Diwan Mirror of Time, Ali Bashir Al-Houni, Libya Academy for Advanced Studies, 1st edition, 2023, p. 27.
([6]) Diwan Mirror of Time, Ali Bashir Al-Houni, Libya Academy for Advanced Studies, 1st edition, 2023, p. 49.
([7]) Diwan Mirror of Time, Ali Bashir Al-Houni, Libya Academy for Advanced Studies, 1st edition, 2023, p. 45.
