Poetry and Prose: Valentine Special – Love in its Purist Form: A Pathway to the Divine

 

Sultan Qaboos Cultural Center’s Poetry & Prose series was proud to host Associate Professor and the founding Director of Arabic Studies at DePaul University, Dr. Nesreen Akhtarkhavari on Thursday, 11 February 2021. 

In Dr.Akhtarkhavari’s Love in its Purist Form: A Pathway to the Divine presentation, she examined “the notion and essence of love as a construct of the soul and a pathway to eternal spiritual reunion — a glimpse of the connection between man and the divine (Akhtarkhavari).” She brilliantly and carefully read (in Arabic and English) Jalal al-Deen al-Rumi’s poem “What Happened?” from a book she co- published called: Love is My Savior: The Arabic Poems of Rumi. Throughout her presentation she examined the poem’s language and contextualized the concept of love in Sufi tradition. 

This event was a special valentine’s day celebration that was held via zoom with approximately 70 attendees. Many participants were very intrigued and thankful for the presentation by Dr.Akhtarkhavari.