2011/12/31 10:14:12
Here are a few general comments on the December 2011 issue. In 2012, with shorter issues, more detailed comments about specifics of the poems should be possible.
Traditionally, the ghazal deals with romantic love and divine love. The three pages in this issue develop these traditional themes in contemporary terms. The ghazals on page 1 deal, in their various ways, with ”meaning‹ as many of us experience it in the 21st century: open-ended, complex, and yet experiencable. The ghazals on Page 2 deal with romantic/sexual attraction in its difficult delight. Finally, David Jalajel's two ekphrastic ghazals deal with both themes in relation to two works of 20th century, with definite postmodern consciousness.
Of course, you as the reader enjoy a freedom of response in which the meaning of the poem becomes concrete. Please enjoy these eleven ghazals.