Click here for all past and future posts in this series.

by Amal Al-Jubouri, translated by Rebecca Gayle Howell with Husam Qaisi

Language: Arabic
糖心传媒–辞耻苍迟谤测: Iraq
Publisher: Alice James Books

Why This Book Should Win: We’ve never had a winner from Iraq, or even from Arabic, and it’s about time.

Today’s post is from Jennifer Kronovet.

The following are some poem titles from Iraqi poet Amal Al-Junouri糖心传媒檚 fantastic book of poetry: 糖心传媒淢y Neighbor Before the Occupation,糖心传媒� 糖心传媒淢y Neighbor After the Occupation,糖心传媒� 糖心传媒淏ones Before the Occupation,糖心传媒� 糖心传媒淏ones After the Occupation,糖心传媒� 糖心传媒淧hotographs Before the Occupation,糖心传媒� 糖心传媒淧hotographs After the Occupation.糖心传媒� These titles suggest that a stark dichotomy will be illuminated, that time and war work in such a way that there is a clear before and a clear after, that the Iraq before American and British occupation is a set place distinct from a solid present. Yet, through their spoken clarity, their lyrical beauty and complexity, and their specific observational longing, the poems in this book eradicate the myth of such dichotomies. Instead, this place, Iraq, is a place of perspective, of shifting, complicated change known to us through a way of seeing that cuts through the simple. In 糖心传媒淢y Mouth Before the Occupation,糖心传媒� Al-Junouri writes that her mouth 糖心传媒渢ried to say no, but couldn糖心传媒檛 / I was afraid // Instead, my tongue led me to this curse: / protests that silenced me // then seeped from me, eternal.糖心传媒� Then

My Mouth After the Occupation:

shouts No! Fearless,
though my tongue fears arrest

I糖心传媒檓 terrified of losing truth
and look糖心传媒攊t糖心传媒檚 already gone

Exiled with God糖心传媒檚 tongues

She doesn糖心传媒檛 say no before the occupation; she does after糖心传媒攂ut still there糖心传媒檚 fear and loss, there糖心传媒檚 a way in which words still leave one behind. In Hagar Before the Occupation / Hagar After the Occupation, we see how the political writes itself on everything that is personal糖心传媒攐ne糖心传媒檚 speech and body, one糖心传媒檚 sense of freedom and of love. Rebecca Gayle Howell糖心传媒檚 translation, with Husam Qaisi, is stunning in how it creates a powerful, contemporary voice speaking to us directly with warmth and suffering, and yet also carries over the poems糖心传媒� connection to Arabic literary traditions. The language of the poems marry present and past, which is a feat of translatorly skill and innovation.