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 century’s most accomplished poets as well as today’s 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, Andrée 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. Hold my hand and take me to the heart for I prefer your home, oh poetry . —excerpted from Small Sins by Maram Masri (Syria) The Arab world's poetic tradition predates Islam, but it was through the social revolution of Islam that it became possible to be a poet, an Arab, and a woman. 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. These poems were garnered from throughout the world and translated from Arabic, French, and other languages by many hands. Some of the featured poets have lived their whole lives outside the Arab world, and although many rely on Arab poetic traditions and forms, the "Arabness" of others is subtler. The book's contents vary in quality, for established poets like Naomi Shihab Nye are juxtaposed with little-known American graduate students. Yet out of a cacophony of voices, styles, and visions, deeper understanding of what it means to be an Arab and a poet can be obtained. Although it can be criticized for favoring breadth over depth, this anthology answers a long-felt need, and its arrival should be celebrated. John Green Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved 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. 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. 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. Eighty-two Arab women poets from all over the world are gathered in this highly charged, stunning anthology. E