Poet El-Kassas meets painter Abla in Women of the Balconies

Women of the Balconies by: Gamal El-Kassas, Cairo: Dar Al-Ain, 2012. 115pp. Poet Gamal El-Kassas and artist Mohammed Abla meet for the first time in one work in El-Kassas' newly-released poetry book Nisa’ Ashoroufat (Women of the Balconies) from Al-Ain publishing house. Abla, 59, who is known for his reluctance to put his paintings on book covers, painted something specifically for the poetry collection, making it his first cover ever in his long, renowned career. The collection contains 10 poems written between October and November 2009. Nine of the poems are inside the book, while the 10th - which the collection is named after- is on the back cover. Gamal Al-Kassas, an Egyptian poet born in 1950, studied philosophy and works as the head of the cultural section at Asharq Al-Awsat Newspaper issued from London. He has published seven other poetry collections since 1984.