Mahmoud Al-Rifai Recalls the Memory of Letters and Mail in a New Book

Writer Mahmoud Al-Rifai published his new book "O Roar of the Mail" through Mosaic House for Studies and Publishing in 2024, through which he recalls the memory of postal letters and human communication in an era when the mail was a carrier of news and parcels. The book consists of 153 pages in medium format, and comes as an extension of the author's interest in human experiences and documenting details of daily life.

The book starts from the shop of the author's father in Kuwait during the 1970s, where it was a social hub where different nationalities and cultures met. Al-Rifai recalled this period through letters he kept, which were later found among his father's papers, which brought back faces, places, and events that formed a motivation to transform personal memory into material documenting aspects of social life.

The characters of the book vary from Abu Jasem and Abdul Muhsin and the old woman Umm Mubarak, along with stories of lovers and expatriates. The stories are not limited to postal letters, but include urgent telegrams and letters that were transferred via buses, as well as writings on walls and transportation means that the author sees as another form of human communication.

In a statement to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA), Al-Rifai clarified that the mail was part of people's lives and a companion of travel routes, noting that selecting excerpts from Fairuz's songs came to prepare the reader for its atmosphere. He emphasized that human relationships are not measured by the number of exchanged letters, but by what they carry of sincerity, interest, and loyalty.

The author raises questions about the nature of communication in the present time, pointing out that recalling the past does not mean portraying it as an ideal time, but rather reflecting on the value of human relationships. This edition comes after the publication of his previous book "Half a Pencil" in 2024, reflecting his continued interest in documenting human memory.

Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)

Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)