ABU DHABI, Feb. 11, 2009 (WAM) -- A number of American poets expressed their admiration for KALAMA, a huge translation project launched by the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH).

Award-winning Remica L. Bingham was delighted to hear that her poetry will be translated into Arabic.

"What an honor, to be placed among the likes of some of the worlds most influential and important voices. What a joy, to know a vast body of readers will make their way to the page and find your words waiting in their own tongue!" said Bingham, who is a native of Phoenix, Arizona.

"What better communion is there than the intersection of eager readers discovering work that once was nearly unimaginable and eager writers granted a burgeoning, new voice!" she added.

"The Kalima Project is historic in its undertaking and its magnitude. What a gift it is to the Arab world! In the years to come, the project will touch an unimaginable number of lives, giving many their first glimpse into worlds and ages previously unknown," said Bingham, who is currently the Writing Competency Coordinator at Norfolk State University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Poet and playwright Afaa Michael Weaver, who is also translator himself, shares her sentiments.

"The Kalima Project reminds us once again of the importance of translation. Translators stand between different cultures and the histories they carry to build bridges that we can travel so as to know one another," said Weaver, who is currently alumnae professor at Simmons College.

"Without translation, we would be hopelessly lost to one another, lost to the possible exchange of the hopes and fears that make us all human. The Kalima Project affirms the centre that connects us all, language and structures we build with it, including our capacity to love," he added.

The distinguished poet Van Jordan praised the important cultural role of Abu Dhabi's translation project.

"I know this will be a worthwhile project to bridge the understanding of not only cultural lifestyles between African Americans and the Arab speaking world, but also our cultural struggles, which are more shared than disparate," said Jordan, whose poetry won many awards.

"Understanding our cultures has always been dependent on the import and export of media depictions; here is an opportunity to share our culture in our own tongues," added Jordan, who is currently teaches at the University of Michigan.

Meanwhile, the American poet E. Ethelbert Miller will be presenting an evening of poetry for the public in English (accompanied by Arabic translation), to celebrate his book, translated into Arabic by KALIMA, at the forthcoming session of the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair.

The book, 'At Night, We Are All Black Poets', is a selection of Miller's poems translated and presented by Wisal Al Allaq.

"I am excited about being selected to participate in this project [KALIMA]. It's a further example of the construction of cultural bridges between people and nations," said Miller, who is one of the most famous African Americans contemporary poets.

"I've been fortunate to travel to Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq and Bahrain. I feel my trips to the Middle East are part for my development as a literary activist and a writer of conscience," added the poet who several literary awards.

"The KALIMA Project is a blessing. I am excited about my poems being translated into Arabic. I feel in a small way connected to a region that has one of the highest regards for poetry. We live in a world with too many borders. A good poem offers a window into another experience. When words touch the heart everything is possible," he said.

Copyright Emirates News Agency (WAM) 2009.