Praise
for The Poetry of Arab Women A Contemporary Anthology edited by
Nathalie Handal “Ancient
Arab women are sometimes anthologized, but contemporary poets don’t get the attention
that they deserve and that this ambitious volume begins to give them…out of a
cacophony of voices, styles, and visions, deeper understanding of what it means to be an
Arab and a poet…this anthology answers a long-felt need, and its arrival should be
celebrated.”
—Booklist “Eighty-two
Arab women poets from all over the world are gathered in this highly charged, stunning
anthology. Editor Nathalie Handal has done an amazing job of presenting a massive
body of work by a group of women poets who are hardly known on the international
poetry stage…In the male dominated, global poetry community this struggle is endless,
but poets like Elmaz Abi-Nader, Safaa Fathy, Dunya Mikhail, Amal Moussa, and Fatma Kandil
continue to write, sing, and disrupt the status quo. Handal has organized the work of 40
translators who present outstanding English versions of poetry by women from Algeria,
Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine and 10 other countries. This book is a rich magnet
from cultures whose women are some of the leading artists of a vibrant world.” —The Bloomsbury Review “Stands
out as an ambitious attempt to ensure a greater visibility not only for Arab women poets
but also for other women poets who are of Arab origin. International in its scope, the
anthology presents the works of 83 poets…Handal has sought and succeeded in
demonstrating some of the shared experiences and concerns (private, national and
universal) that mark their poetry…Handal deserves high praise for producing an
anthology that mirrors faithfully Arab women’s creative role throughout the last
century. Highly recommended.” —MultiCultural Review “Handal
assembles a catalog of the anomie of displacement that links the eighty-three poets
selected for this collection. Her lengthy introduction, both factually impressive and
emotionally heartwarming, awakens an excited interest for the poetry that follows. A
haunting and pervasive commitment unites these poets…The poetic gift of every woman
in the collection is, as always, unique and individual… A number of
the poets, especially Arab Americans, write in English, but those needing translation have
been blessed with carefully selected artists. The English versions have a grace and an
integrity seldom found in translations. —Foreword “This rich
anthology goes a long way toward introducing contemporary Arab women poets,
Arab-American women poets writing in English, and a few other women poets of Arab origin
writing in French and Swedish. Its main virtue is that in one handsome volume it presents
209 poems of various lengths and styles by 83 women, some born in the Arab world and some
elsewhere, but all rooted in Arab culture and experiencing the modern world as they carve
their own identity. The editor,
Nathalie Handal, a well-known Arab-American poet…is to be congratulated for compiling
this useful volume…Only someone who knows the complex work of editing, making wise
selections, seeking qualified translators…can fully appreciate Handal’s efforts.
In addition, she wrote a 62-page introduction providing a good historical overview
of contemporary Arab women’s poetry…on reading these poets from A to Z, one is
impressed by the symphony of their voices, singular yet united…These voices are distinctive,
articulate, authentic, and they dare to say what men poets sometimes dissimulate. Understandably
not comprehensive, this anthology is however quite representative of the powerful poetry
of Arab women and is a visible confirmation of its effective existence.” —Aljadid Magazine “An
astonishing, huge accomplishment! This anthology, beginning with Nathalie
Handal's large and nuanced opening essay, demolishes stereotypes and allows the whole
world to see and hear the powerful complexity and longing that these poets so
memorably articulate. Here we may meet and marvel at 83 Arab women poets... from the
visionary, elder Lebanese poet Etel Adnan, to the Lebanese American young poet Dima
Hilal... this is an incredible, international gathering of Arab women poets writing
from the first quarter of the 20th century through now...” —June Jordan “A
landmark: the first survey of poetry entirely by Arab women with roots in nearly
every Arab country…Strong introductory collection…While the 60-page
introduction helps the reader with the inevitable difficulties of context that such a
broad survey presents, there is sublime, occasionally fierce beauty in the poems
themselves, which arrive with vitality, freshness and surprising power. The book argues
well for the broader recognition of Arab poetry, by women or men, as a world literary
force.”
—Aramco “In
this beautifully produced, elegant and thoroughly researched volume, Nathalie
Handal has created a fresh image of the women of the Arab world…a great
achievement, and long awaited….She is to be congratulated, further, for
the detailed and informative preface, introduction and biographical notes on each
poet, translator and reader. This anthology is a wonderful confirmation of the increasing
interest in Arab literature by the West over the last few years….Altogether a great
anthology that will become a well-worn bedside book as well as a valuable source of
reference.” “The
poetic voices of Arab women…are beautifully captured in this timely volume edited by
the Arab-American scholar and poet Nathalie Handal…the anthology succeeds eminently
in giving the reader the opportunity to appreciate the new and powerful verse of
contemporary Arab women…In her sixty-two page introduction, Handal gives a succinct
account of the development of Arab poetry in general, then places the poetry of Arab women
within it as one of rising importance…Handal is to be congratulated for having
compiled this rich anthology and for making Arab women’s poetry known and easily
accessible. She is also to be thanked for her great efforts in making wise selections; for
finding good translators, second translators, and helpful poets and critics as consultant
readers…the poems…constitute a symphony of voices articulating Arab’s women’s
hopes, feelings, and experiences so powerfully that a new, hitherto unknown image of Arab
women impresses itself on the Western reader’s mind…this poetry is authentic in
its expression of Arab women’s yearning for a place in the sun…This anthology
makes visible their admirable struggle and their compelling verbal art.” —World Literature Today “Excellent.” —The News Circle (LA) “Superb…Congratulations
on a brilliant piece of work.” —Peter Clark (British Council) “Recommended.” —Orange County Library “Stands
out as a monument to Arab women as poets and wordsmiths evoking images and rhythms of
language born of their experience, art and imagination. Of special note is the lengthy
introduction, followed by representative selections from more than 80 Arab women of
diverse backgrounds and life experiences.” —Bookwatch “Under
the able editorship of Nathalie Handal, The Poetry Of Arab Women: A Contemporary
Anthology stands as a monument to the manifold literary of Arab women as poets and
wordsmiths evoking images and rhythms of language born of their experience, art, and
imagination. Of special note is the lengthy introduction, followed by representative
selections from more than 80 Arab women of diverse backgrounds and life experiences.”
—Midwest Book Review “The
anthology was prepared to eradicate invisibility,” writes Nathalie Handal (The
Never Field) of Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology. With
research help from groups like RAWI (Radius of Arab-American Writers, Inc.) and from
Arab-American newspapers and journals like Al Jadid, Handal has gathered work from “most
of the older and newer contemporary voices” of the Arab diaspora, over 80 poets
writing in Arabic, French, English and other languages, and living in Syria, Saudi Arabia,
Lebanon, Yemen, Gaza and the U.S. Handal’s introduction, along with biographical
notes on the poets and many translators, helps to place them.” —Publishers Weekly “An
extremely thorough collection…Handal’s introduction does an excellent job
of setting the poems in context…The poets whose work appears here are largely
excellent…I want to show this to everyone who regards Arabs as ‘those other
people who aren’t like us.’…These are impressive poems, brave poems,
diverse poems. And this is an impressive, brave and diverse book. Although I found
it painful sometimes, I recommend it highly. No: maybe because I found it painful
sometimes. This is a book that people need to read.” —Rachel Barenblatt, Pif Magazine |