We Part Only to Meet Again...
The image shown below of Arabic script is actual Arabic writing used in a story by Tani Jantsang. It translates to the phonetic words also shown below in the email correspondence between Phil Marsh and Abla Khalil, an Arabic Professor of Arabic Language. Tani wrote the phonetic words in a way that would sound right if she said these words; she did not use any kind of "standard" transliteration, nor does she know how to.
Tani used the phonetic Arabic and the English translation of it as a prop in her story, and also put the actual Arabic at the end of the story, "We Part Only to Meet Again."
When some of the tale, showing the phonetic Arabic words and their translation, was posted to usenet, one total fraud that posts there tried to claim that "those phonetic words are not Arabic and can not be Arabic." Then he tried to say that "Tani was claiming to have written a poem that Edgar Allen Poe wrote!"
Tani never claimed to have written the poem, which is shown here in this image below in Arabic. It's not even modern Arabic as might appear in a modern day newspaper, either. Tani simply said that Edgar Allen Poe also did NOT write the poem. He couldn't have.
Below we show that experts agree, Poe did not write the poem. We also show that the phonetic Arabic Tani used, and the actual Arabic script (both used in her story) was correct and that the translation was also correct.
So, there is a published story that Tani Jantsang wrote called, "We Part Only to Meet Again." In the published tale, Tani showed this image below in Arabic at the end of the tale. In the tale, the phonetic words to the poem were written into the story, and then the English translation of those words written into the story.
Tani Jantsang wrote the story. She never claimed to write the poem. In fact, it is not known who wrote the poem, but it is not something new and probably not copyrighted.
The online fraud kept insisting on his falsehoods, and when his falsehoods were corrected to explain what is explained above, the online fraud persisted in his distortions.
Philip Marsh then contacted an Arab who is also a Professor of Arabic. Not only was he able to read the phonetic words with some difficulty (as he admits he had problems with only a few words), but he confirmed the translation into English when he was shown the actual Arabic script shown in the image below.
Here is the image of the actual Arabic text:
Email #1, Arabic Professor to Philip Marsh:
Begin quote:
On Sun, 01 Dec 2002 09:00:32 -0500
Abla Khalil <akhalil@attbi.com writes:
Your email to Ms. Greta West at the University of Miami was forwarded to me.
It is regarding your request for a translation of an Arabic letter written in English. Are you still interested?
Please call me at: 305 6xxxxxxx
Prof. Abla Khalil
> "Ma enfasalna El-la lenaltaky thaneyatan
> Rag-am al-ateya bela hodood
> Thikraka abadan taj-aloka karee-ban min-ny
> Wa-ana matheya ma-aka ela al-abad
> Wa-fy sa-ato Entesafo al-layl al-baheem
> heena takoodo al-kawakebo almotala-le-ato Almohet
> sayar-tafe-bo Esmoka eela al-sama haytho al-lla al-nejoom
> Fayan-damejo ma-ah weela-ah roohy."
End Quote
The words that appear next to the > marks in quotes, are the Arabic words rendered into phonetic sounds by using our alphabet.
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Email #2 Philip Marsh to the Arabic Professor:
Begin quote:
On Sun, 1 Dec 2002 09:43:51 -0500
Philip Marsh <NaKiVeD@juno.com writes:
Yes, I'm interested and now I also have the actual arabic text, I attach it. Do you still need me to call since you have Arabic text AND the phonetic I got?
End quote
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Email #3 Arabic Professor to Philip Marsh:
Begin Quote:
From: Abla Khalil <akhalil@attbi.com
To: Philip Marsh <nakived@juno.com
Date: Tue, 03 Dec 2002 09:08:06 -0500
Subject: Re: Translation
Message-ID: <3DECBAC6.D72B765E@attbi.com
References: <20021201.094353.-3931925.20.NaKiVeD@juno.com
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I am glad you found the Arabic script... it clarified a couple of words I was not sure of. The cost for this translation is $25. If it is agreable please call me
AK
End Quote
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Email #4 Philip Marsh to the Arabic Professor:
Begin quote:
From: Philip Marsh <NaKiVeD@juno.com
To: akhalil@attbi.com
Date: Wed, 4 Dec 2002 06:32:25 -0500
Subject: Re: Translation
If I were to show you a translation I got from elsewhere, could you confirm it? I wonder where this is from exactly.
Translation I have is this:
"We part only to meet again
Though mighty boundless waves may sever
Remembrance shall bring thee near
And I shall go with thee forever
And often at midnight's silent hour
When brilliant planets guide the ocean
Thy name shall rise to highest stars
And mingle with my soul's devotion."
End quote
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Email #5 Arabic Professor to Philip Marsh:
Begin Quote:
From: Abla Khalil <akhalil@attbi.com
To: Philip Marsh <nakived@juno.com
Date: Wed, 04 Dec 2002 12:17:38 -0500
Subject: Re: Translation
Message-ID: <3DEE38B2.6587782D@attbi.com
References: <20021204.063230.-3828455.18.NaKiVeD@juno.com
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This is a correct translation
Philip Marsh wrote:
> If I were to show you a translation I got from elsewhere, could you confirm it
End Quote
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Not only was this Arabic professor able to read the phonetic, but he confirmed the entire translation when he saw the Arabic script. He said: "This is a correct translation."
***
What is the big deal about this little poem?
Well, Tani Jantsang wrote three Cthulhu Mythos stories that were "different," since people were asking for something different and not the same, old, dry pastiche. These were very sad mythos stories with only a hint of mythos in the background, which would be "obviously mythos" only to mythos fans, but not to anyone else. These stories were, "The Poet, Somebody Loves Him, and "We Part Only to Meet Again."
The tale "We Part Only to Meet Again," takes place in the present and in the past, as the protagonist remembers a past life. The present life scenes in "We Part Only to Meet Again" were written for Andre Soly, who was feeling what the protagonist feels at the start of the tale, before Andre died in December of 1992. But the past life scenes in "We Part Only to Meet Again" were written a few weeks after George Bush Senior. first bombed Iraq (January, 1991) and it is in that portion that these Arabic versus show up. It was at that time that Hadrian Hicks (pronounced Adrian) was close with these Moslems and with Jeffrey Archer (the reporter). Prior to the bombing, Hadrian was going to go to Iraq to the Festival they had there for the Goddess in honor of Nebuchadnezzar; Mr. Hussein was looking for architects to rebuild the unearthed temple. So that is when both parts of the story Tani wrote were written.
The story Tani wrote is "We Part Only to Meet Again." The beginning theme of the story introduces you to the protagonist. The tale goes from the protagonist experiences in the present and to his memory of a past life that he dreams about. It is in the past-life scenes that the Arabic verses come into the tale.
Here is the kicker. As author, Tani put her name on her story and then wrote in parenthesis "& E. A. Poe." If the tale had appeared without the modern scenes, it would have appeared as "by Tani Jantsang."
The modern-day scenes that were part of the tale, have obvious hints of the poem "Annabelle Lee" in them. "Annabelle Lee" is a poem that Edgar Allen Poe wrote! The tale appeared like this: "By Tani Jantsang (& E. A. Poe)" This is fanzine literature and funny things like this are done all the time. "E" actually stoof for Eric, the Americanized name of the Arabic person whose mother had the collection of Arabic poems and tales, including the poem used for the tale. "A" actually stood for Adrian (Hadrian). Poe was put in there to alert fanzine readers to watch out for something from Poe. What was Poe-like in the tale was solely from the poem "Annabelle Lee." It's a very sad poem of two lovers!
We meet E. A. Poe in the first line of the story, "I was born Eric Adrian Poe on March 22, 1970." Hadrian is the one who asked Eric's mother to give Tani the phonetic words (she spoke them) and she xeroxed the Arabic lines from a manuscript she had. - ergo: Eric Adrian. It was a way of tipping the hat to them.
But exactly what in the story is from Poe to warrant putting Poe on there? "Annabelle Lee," Poe's poem. For example, the woman Eric meets in the story is named Mirabelle and the woman he knows from his past life is Anela. "Annabelle Lee" is about a Kingdom by the Sea. Example from the story Tani wrote: ".......but there was never a day that the sun shined that I did not remember the bright eyes of Mirabelle." Or this one: ".......nor angels, nor demons, ...can dissever two souls..." and this one, "And forever, ...we will always be in the kingdom down under the sea." These lines only appear in the modern day setting portion of Tani's story, not in the past life scenes, and they are clearly from Poe's poem "Annabelle Lee." The Arabic poem, however, is part of the past life scenes and was not written by Tani or by Poe!
Now this is an even bigger kicker. Tani never claimed to write those lines from the Arabic, and they are in quotes. It is a funny coincidence that she put "& E.A. Poe" on there, even if Eric was one person, Adrian was another person and the Poe part only concerned the allusions in the tale to Poe's poem "Annabelle Lee."
The fact is, Poe did NOT write any poem called, "We Part Only to Meet Again." Poe may have written down the lines the same way Tani did, after seeing them elsewhere. The story was published in "Cthulhu Cultus Fanzine." The point is, Tani never claimed to write those actual lines of the poem and even showed the actual Arabic script in the fanzine in which it was published. But Edgar Allen Poe did not write those lines in the poem either as this following will show!
Quote:
From http://www.eapoe.org/works/editions/tga.htm
A controversial presentation copy of Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque was sold at auction by Christie's (in New York) around September 1994 (for $63,000).
The inscription, in ink, is from Poe to Emily Virginia Chapman, purportedly a cousin. On one of the front blank pages of volume one appears, in pencil, the following poem: "We only part to meet again / Tho mighty boundless waves may sever / Remebrance oft shall bring thee near / And I will with thee go forever // And oft a midnight's silent hour / When brilliant planets shall guide the ocean / Thy name shall rise to heaven's highest star / And mingle with my soul's devotion."
That's almost the same poem that appears in Tani's story - the verses that Tani got from the Arabic!
The handwriting was supposedly authenticated by the late autograph expert Charles Hamilton, who may have intended to substantiate only the presentation inscription. Burton Pollin and other Poe scholars have discarded the poem as possibly composed by Poe, even if it should prove to have been written down by him. Since manuscript lines by Poe, especially for an entirely new poem, would provide a substantial boost in value, it is highly suspicious that these two volumes passed through several owners and auction houses with no mention of the poem. (Burton Pollin suggests that the inscription to E. Chapman may have been made when Poe was in Baltimore in January 1844 or, less likely, in March 1846.)
Unquote
And Now for Something Very Strange!
Cthulhu Mythos fans would all know who "Marsh" is in the mythos. Phil Marsh, sick of the usenet idiot bothering Tani, wrote to the Arabic Professor.
When looking on the web trying to find more infomation on those lines of verse, a web page came up about a little girl who was to be named Robin Elizabeth MARSH, who died in open heart surgery. Her father made a page for her - it is SAD: http://adrr.com/living/index1.htm
On his website (how he knew this, is unknown), he mentions the poem in Tani's story! Why the father of this ill-fated child even mentions Tani or this poem on his website is unknown.
More from the Web
The websearch also found a similar part of a poem by Pierce Shelley, "The Revolt of Islam. A Poem in Twelve Cantos": http://www.bartleby.com/139/shel11322.html
" XLVIII
'We part to meet again--but yon blue waste,
Yon desert wide and deep, holds no recess
Within whose happy silence, thus embraced,
We might survive all ills in one caress;
Nor doth the grave--I fear 't is passionless--
Nor yon cold vacant Heaven:--we meet again
Within the minds of men, whose lips shall bless
Our memory, and whose hopes its light retain
When these dissevered bones are trodden in the plain.'"
//END//