A Guide to Eleven New Poetry Collections by Arab Writers Translated into English

A new publishing series that brings contemporary Arab women poets into English will launch at the Boston Public Library’s Central Library on September 16. The event will mark the arrival of Iraqi poet Hanaa Ahmad Jabr’s I Drag My Sorrow by His Collar, the first volume in Songs for Fairuz: New Arab Women’s Poetry. Published by Black Ocean, the series takes its name from Lebanese singer Fairuz and will introduce the work of 10 Arab women poets over five years. Jabr’s first solo collection in English has been translated by Jennifer Jean, the series editor, and Wadaq Qais.

The project joins a wider range of Arabic literature appearing in English and new poetry by Arab writers over the past year. The books range from Shamma Al Bastaki’s account of communities around Dubai Creek to Lenna Jawdat’s response to the approximately 70,000 books removed from Palestinian homes and private libraries before and during 1948.

You Must Live by Various Authors

Published last September, You Must Live gathers work by more than 30 Palestinian poets from Gaza and the West Bank, most of whom are living in Palestine. The bilingual anthology is translated from Arabic and edited by Tayseer Abu Odeh and Sherah Bloor, with Jorie Graham as guest editor.

House to House by Shamma Al Bastaki

Emirated poet Shamma Al Bastaki built House to House, published last October, from interviews with people who grew up in the historic neighbourhoods around Dubai Creek. Their memories span the 1940s to the 1980s, tracing the city’s changes through accounts of homes, businesses, and daily routines.

The Town I Never Told You About by Ghassan Zaqtan

Palestinian poet Ghassan Zaqtan’s latest collection, published in February, gathers poems written between 2022 and 2024 and translated from Arabic by Robin Moger. Villages and hillscapes emerge through memory, with individual recollections opening on to a longer history of displacement.

Other Paths for Shahrazad, Edited by Jennifer Jean

Published in February, this bilingual Arabic-English anthology brings together 40 women poets from 11 Arab countries. The poems were selected by the Iraqi members of the Her Story Is collective and co-translated by writers working in the Arab world and North America.

Theories of Return by Sara Abou Rashed

Palestinian poet Sara Abou Rashed traces her family’s displacement from Palestine to refugee camps in Syria and later the US in her debut collection, published in March. Home appears as a physical place and an inheritance carried through memory.

Mermaid Theory by Maya Salameh

Syrian and Lebanese American poet Maya Salameh draws on Atargatis, an ancient Syrian goddess associated with one of the earliest mermaid legends, in her second collection published in April.

70,000 by Lenna Jawdat

Published in July, 70,000 takes its title from the about 70,000 books removed from Palestinian homes and private libraries before and during 1948. Jawdat, a poet and psychotherapist of Palestinian and Iraqi descent, responded by writing out every number from 1 to 70,000 by hand.

Thalassa by Leena Aboutaleb

Leena Aboutaleb’s debut collection, published in July, begins with the death of her brother. The Egyptian and Palestinian writer imagines descending into the underworld to search for him, giving an ancient journey the shape of personal grief.

Exhibit G by Fady Joudah

Fady Joudah combines poetry, essays and photographs of Gaza in Exhibit G, which will be published on September 22. The Palestinian-American poet and physician writes from the US, where he cares for patients while watching the destruction of Gaza from afar.

I Drag My Sorrow by His Collar by Hanaa Ahmad Jabr

Iraqi poet Hanaa Ahmad Jabr’s first solo collection in English will be published on October 27, opening the Songs for Fairuz series. Translated by Jennifer Jean and Wadaq Qais, the prose poems draw on Jabr’s experiences of living in Iraq through the violence of the past two decades.

Enter World by Dalia Taha

Palestinian poet and playwright Dalia Taha writes from Ramallah in Enter World, which will be published on November 3. The collection has been translated from Arabic by Egyptian poet Sara Elkamel.