A review by asm21
Victims of a Map: A Bilingual Anthology of Arabic Poetry by Adonis, Mahmoud Darwish, Samih Al-Qasim

5.0

3 poets with 3 very different styles and energy. The mourning and sorrow in these poets are so tangible! I read this books as an introduction to Arabic poetry and oh boy if I was mesmerized by it. I have read somewhere that Adonis happens to be the most mature of these poets. Yet, I actually found my self liking the other 2 way more. Mahmud Darwish has this fantastic ability to convey hope and sorrow through beautiful imagery, I think a beautiful example "We are entitled to love Autumn". I loved Samih al-Qasim, his genius comes out especially in short poems that tickle you and makes you read them multiple times. The poem "Abandoning" had me sobbing, which was completely unexpected.