Description
With a foreword by National Book Award-winning author William T. Vollmann Dictionary of Midnight collects almost 50 years of poetry by Abdulla Pashew, the most influential Kurdish poet alive today. Pashew's poems chart a personal cartography of exile, recounting the recent political history of Kurdistan and its struggle for independence. Poet-translator Alana Marie Levinson-LaBrosse worked with the poet to select and translate his most iconic poems, balancing well-known, politically engaged contemporary Kurdish classics like "12 Lessons for Children" with the concise love lyrics that have always punctuated his work.
The book will be heavily promoted, especially in Kurdistan, where we will believe there will be a significant audience for the translation of Pashew's work. Translator Alana Marie Levinson-LaBrosse runs an art and culture center in Kurdistan. Events will be held there and elsewhere in Kurdistan. LaBrosse will also be in California in the spring for events.
About the Author
When he gives readings in Kurdistan, Abdulla Pashew draws audiences in the thousands. In addition to his eight volumes of poetry, Pashew is a prolific translator, fluent in Russian and English, responsible for bringing Whitman and Pushkin to Kurdish readership. He holds a master's degree in pedagogy and a doctorate in philology. Dictionary of Midnight is the first book-length selection of his poetry to appear in English. Alana Marie Levinson-LaBrosse is a poet, translator, and co-director of Kashkul, a research, translation, and arts collaborative. She has lived and worked in Iraq since 2011, during which time she has dedicated herself to bringing Kurdish poets to English-speaking audiences, including Kajal Ahmad's Handful of Salt. Her poems, translations, and essays have appeared in The Iowa Review, Modern Poetry in Translation, The Sewanee Review, and World Literature Today, among others.
Reviews
"Dictionary of Midnight shows the lasting haunt of exile, but also the evocative powers of writing as testament to personal strife and a people's lifelong yearning for home." - Asymptote Journal
Book Information
ISBN 9781944700805
Author Abdulla Pashew
Format Paperback
Page Count 385
Imprint Phoneme
Publisher Phoneme
The book will be heavily promoted, especially in Kurdistan, where we will believe there will be a significant audience for the translation of Pashew's work. Translator Alana Marie Levinson-LaBrosse runs an art and culture center in Kurdistan. Events will be held there and elsewhere in Kurdistan. LaBrosse will also be in California in the spring for events.
About the Author
When he gives readings in Kurdistan, Abdulla Pashew draws audiences in the thousands. In addition to his eight volumes of poetry, Pashew is a prolific translator, fluent in Russian and English, responsible for bringing Whitman and Pushkin to Kurdish readership. He holds a master's degree in pedagogy and a doctorate in philology. Dictionary of Midnight is the first book-length selection of his poetry to appear in English. Alana Marie Levinson-LaBrosse is a poet, translator, and co-director of Kashkul, a research, translation, and arts collaborative. She has lived and worked in Iraq since 2011, during which time she has dedicated herself to bringing Kurdish poets to English-speaking audiences, including Kajal Ahmad's Handful of Salt. Her poems, translations, and essays have appeared in The Iowa Review, Modern Poetry in Translation, The Sewanee Review, and World Literature Today, among others.
Reviews
"Dictionary of Midnight shows the lasting haunt of exile, but also the evocative powers of writing as testament to personal strife and a people's lifelong yearning for home." - Asymptote Journal
Book Information
ISBN 9781944700805
Author Abdulla Pashew
Format Paperback
Page Count 385
Imprint Phoneme
Publisher Phoneme
