Many years ago, I had the unique opportunity to work with Lamia Abbas Amara, one of the most prominent, contemporary Iraqi poets. Unfortunately, Lamia passed away in 2021.
Recently, I discovered Arab World Books which publishes and preserves the work of Arabic poets, past and present. To help preserve Lamia’s legacy, I am working with Arab World Books to publish some of her work in both Arabic and English. The first poem, An Elusion of Roses, has just been posted, and there will be more to come.
Also on Arab World Books, you can read my translation of Nizar Qabbani’s “The Infuriated.”
I hope you’ll check out this site and the wonderful world of Arabic poetry.
So you also know Arabic well enough to translate into English. I am impressed!
I studied Arabic at the university, lived in the Middle East for 5 years and my wife is Palestinian