The Poetry of Arab Women

Bestselling poetry anthology back in print. Winner of the PEN Oakland Literary Award. Arab women poets work within one of the oldest literary traditions in the world, yet they are virtually unknown in the West. In assembling this collection, Nathalie Handal has compiled an outstanding, important treasury that introduces the poetry of Arab women living all over the world, writing in Arabic, French, English, and other languages, and including some of the twentieth centurys most accomplished poets as well as todays most exciting new voices. Translated by distinguished translators and poets from around the world, The Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology showcases the work of 83 poets, among them Etel Adnan, Andre Chedid, Salma Khadra Jayyusi, Naomi Shihab Nye, and Fadwa Tuqan. With an illuminating introduction by Handal, and extensive biographies of both poets and translators, The Poetry of Arab Women sheds brilliant light on a hitherto under-recognized group of talented poets.

Nathalie Handal is an award-winning poet, playwright, nonfiction and literary travel writer. She was raised in Latin America, France, and the Middle East, and educated in Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Handal is the author of five poetry collections, including, most recently, The Lives of Rain and Life in a Country Album, winner of the Palestine Book Award. She is a professor at New York University, and writes the literary travel column, The City and the Writer for Words without Borders.