Category Archives: Zohra Saed

Lapis

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Lapis (Lapis Lazuli)
noun

Semiprecious stone valued for its deep-blue colour caused by the presence of the mineral lazurite, which is the source of the pigment ultramarine. Lapis lazuli is not a single mineral but an intergrowth lazurite with calcite, pyroxene, and commonly small grains of pyrite. The most important mines are in Afghanistan and Chile. Much of what is sold as lapis is an artificially dyed jasper from Germany that shows colourless specks of clear, crystallized quartz and never the goldlike flecks of pyrite that are characteristic of lapis lazuli.

Source: Merriam-Webster

“Her lapis doves and tinseled mountains are misplaced and glorified behind plates of glass at museums.”

The word lapis here has the significance of color, but also goes back to the fact that one of the most important mines of this mineral is in Afghanistan, where the main character is from.

Talisman

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Talisman
noun

1:  an object held to act as a charm to avert evil and bring good fortune
2:  something producing apparently magical or miraculous effects

Source: Merriam-Webster
“In an apartment overlooking a blue-gray street, her mother’s veil hangs on the wall like a talisman.”
From: What the Scar Revealed, by Zohra Saed

The understanding of the word “talisman” is important to get the sense of the mystical that is being conveyed in the story.

Tinseled

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Tinseled/Tinsel
noun

1:  threads, strips, or sheets of metal, paper, or plastic used to produce a glittering and sparkling appearance in fabrics, yarns, or decorations
2:  something superficially attractive or glamorous but of little real worth <disfigured by no gaudy tinsel of rhetoric or declamation

Source: Merriam-Webster
“After suckling her mother’s fingers for days in the desert, she throws a tinseled veil up to the sky and catches lapis-colored doves.”
From: What the Scar Revealed, by Zohra Saed

The word “tinseled” brings importance to the object being described, adding depth to the story.

Navel

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Navel
noun

1: a depression in the middle of the abdomen that marks the point of former attachment of the umbilical cord or yolk stalk

2:  the central point:  middle

Source: Merriam-Webster

“A newborn’s navel is the same as any wound.”
“While the night is threaded in gold, the lost city in her navel 
unwinds itself from swirls of skin and slips over this new city like a fog.”

From: What the Scar Revealed, by Zohra Saed
The understanding of word “navel” here is important because it lets the reader get the sense of individuality and the relevance of one’s background.

Adhan

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Adhan (noun)

Definition: Islam call to prayer.

Source: dictionary.reference.com/browse/adhan

Found in: What the scar revealed by Zohra Saad

Quote: “To heal, the cut navel swallow the city and remembers its fragrance. Turquoise domes, spice vendors, pomegranates like hearts, and the adman in her ear are consumed by this bloody wound.”

I now understand that it is a call to prayer that she hears in her ear.

A Metaphor?

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What do the indications of setting (time/place) do for your experience of reading Saed’s poem, “What the Scar Revealed”?

Reading, what the scar revealed by Saed was interesting. knowing the setting of the poem made it easier to understand. The indication of where and when this took place brought attention to a lot of the details. It feels like the details could almost have been metaphorical, to what was happening in that country at the time that this poem was written.  When I think Afghanistan in 1977 it reminds me of war. ” Young mother sees spirits walking across the sky with stars, blossoming at each step”.  This is in a way reflecting, the spirits of children, women, and men( especially) soldiers in Afghanistan. The stars joining as a single thread of daylight would represent a better day.

Wounds –  these wounds in comparison to a navel would Intrigue you to think. In this country in this time wounds would have been inflicted due to chaos and war. “To heal, the cut navel swallows the city and remembers its fragrance”. its almost like saying, “you live to tell the story”. This is in memory of  the wounds gained in Afghanistan, and someone able to tell the story of healing.

The setting helps to bring life to the story being told in this poem What The Scar Revealed by Zohra Saed. Knowing the setting is a huge help in visualizing. being aware of the place and time gives an understanding to the story. You actually had the opportunity to not only move through the times with the characters but enables you to put yourself in their shoes.

overall though it seems that knowing the setting helps you to understand the details, I am still stuck wondering

Are the details in this poem metaphorical or are they concrete?

 

 

Final reading responses: Cisneros, Boully, Saed

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Readings: Sandra Cisneros, “Woman Hollering Creek,” 1991 (1399-1408); Jenny Boully, “A Short Essay on Being,” 2010; Zohra Saed, “What the Scar Revealed” (and the others on that page if you’re interested!)I hope you’re enjoying the final three texts we’re reading this semester. For your final response to them, write a post in which you respond to some aspect of one of these texts. For example:

What function do the telenovelas play in “Woman Hollering Creek”?

Why would Boully’s persona say “thank you” rather than correcting some of her incorrect commenters in her essay, “A Short Essay on Being”? ( a quick note: thanks to one of your classmates, the link to this story is now correct!).

What do the indications of setting (time/place) do for your experience of reading Saed’s poem, “What the Scar Revealed”?

Write a post with the category Homework Responses and the author’s name. Comment on one classmate’s post. If you have more than one idea, write about one and leave the other question or writing prompt at the end of your post for the next person to comment on.

To come shortly: a request for a post summarizing and reflecting on your glossary entries. Details to follow…

If you have questions about your video presentation, due on Friday, feel free to reply to this post to ask in an open forum, or email to ask privately. Remember, you can choose any text we read this semester, from Week One all the way through this week.