Blue functions here as a color of dreaming, distance, and introspection, while the labyrinth appears as a recurring figure for the spiral path of identity formation. Although the labyrinth is not equated directly with the fragmentation of the subject, both are understood as parallel processes – unfolding simultaneously in response to a powerful catalyst. Such catalysts may take the form of global or personal disaster, trauma, migration, or a voluntary withdrawal into self-isolation.
The poems explore states of self-estrangement and alienation from reality through a dense network of metaphors, intertexts, and similes. These references frequently draw on other art forms, particularly music and literature, allowing poetic language to resonate beyond its immediate frame. Fictionality is foregrounded not as escape, but as a subtle strategy for interrupting and destabilizing reality when it becomes rigid or unbearable.
Through this approach, the work treats identity as an ongoing negotiation rather than a fixed state. The labyrinth does not promise resolution, but movement – circling, doubling back, and reorienting – offering poetry as a space where fragmentation, imagination, and reflection coexist.
The project is part of the subtheme Disrupted Realities – Poetry and the Politics of Truth.
Author
Noha Abdelrassoul
Noha Abdelrassoul, born March 21st, 1987 in Alexandria, Egypt has been residing since 2017 in Saarbrücken, Germany, where she is currently studying for a Master’s degree in comparative literature. Her poetry was published in Arabic and in German in: Mosaik literary Magazine Online (Austria), “Das Gedicht” (Germany), Kon-Paper literary and cultural Magazine (Germany), Akhbar Aladab literary Magazine (Egypt), Alketaba.com (Egypt), Al-Qahera Newspaper (Egypt).
She has participated at poetry readings in Germany (Lyrik-Kabinett München November 2023, Event, as a workshop participant of a workshop moderated by Daniela Danz: Lyrisches zur Nacht, part of the Poetry Festival "Lyrik über Land", Vollradisroda, Thüringen, September 2024.
She wrote literary and film reviews, journalistic and scholarly articles and interviews in Arabic, German and English for: Kindlers Literatur Lexikon online (Germany), the edited volume “Wiederkehr des Subjekts?”, a publication of the research project “Lyrik in Transition”, lyrikkritik.de (Germany), kanalfuerpoesie.org (Germany), Qantara (Germany) Goethe-Magazin Egypt, Alam Al-Ketab (Egypt), Masreiat (Egypt), Li-Lak (a former project of Goethe-Institut Egypt), Alex Times (Egypt).
