Hayan Charara

A thoughtful new collection of poems, one that deconstructs the deceptively simple question of what it means to be good—a good person, a good citizen, a good teacher, a good poet, a good father. With These Trees, Those Leaves, This Flower, That Fruit, Hayan Charara presents readers with a medley of ambitious analyses, written in characteristically wry verse. He takes philosophers to task, jousts with academics, and scrutinizes hollow gestures of empathy, exposing the dangers of thinking ourselves “separate / from [our] thoughts and experiences.” After all, “No work of love / will flourish out of guilt, fear, or hollowness of heart.” But how do we act on fullness of heart? How, knowing as we do that “genocide is inscribed in our earliest and holiest texts”? Thoughtful but never preachy, Charara sits beside us, granting us access to life’s countless unglamorous dilemmas: crushing a spider when we promised we wouldn’t, nearing madness from a newborn’s weeping, resenting our lovers for what happened in a dream. “Good poems demand to be written from inside the poet,” we are reminded. And that is where we find ourselves here: inside a lively and ethical mind, entertained by Charara’s good company even as goodness challenges us to do more.

These Trees, Those Leaves, This Flower, That Fruit

Presents a collection of poems by such Arab American authors as Samuel Hazo, Lawrence Joseph, Khaled Mattawa, and Naomi Shihab Nye.

An Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Poetry

Inclined to Speak

Hayan Charara's first collection of poems, The Alchemist's Diary, confronted both the wonder and terror of the world. This new book, simultaneously quiet and fierce, delves deeper into the mystery of how we connect to each other and, perhaps more importantly, how we connect to ourselves. From the makeshift graves of people's pets to his admiration of a neighbor's mailbox, and even the price of tomatoes, Hayan Charara takes nothing for granted. Hayan Charara's first collection of poems, The Alchemist's Diary, confronted both the wonder and terror of the world. This new book, simultaneously quiet and fierce, delves deeper into the mystery of how we connect to each other and, perhaps more importantly, how we connect to ourselves. From the makeshift graves of people's pets to his admiration of a neighbor's mailbox, and even the price of tomatoes, Hayan Charara takes nothing for granted.

The Sadness of Others :

A young Lebanese boy must learn to cope with loss and hope for a peaceful future after losing one of his beloved cats when his village comes under attack.

The Three Lucys

These poems grapple with conflicts arising from a world in which the personal, political, cultural, and aesthetic are deeply entangled and often troubling. Charara does not shy away from the tensions, unease, doubts, regrets, or bafflement of this world; and his wide-ranging focus brings together people from all walks of life--a father obsessed with the boxer Muhammad Ali; a girl missing since the 1970s; a mother and daughter trapped in a submerged vehicle; and a suicide bomber, his witnesses, and victims. This collection shows us the mind of an inventive poet undertaking his work with careful consideration, authority, and heart.

Something Sinister

Poetry. THE ALCHEMIST'S DIARY is strong first collection featuring poems of family and Detroit's Arab-American community. Hayna Charara is a star -- follow him -- Naomi Shihab Nye. Sense and feeling...The ethics are true and tough -- Lawrence Joseph. Hayan Charara is the editor of Graffiti Rag.

The Alchemist's Diary

At no other time in American history has our imagination been so engrossed with the Arab experience. An indispensable and historic volume, Inclined to Speak gathers together poems, from the most important contemporary Arab American poets, that shape and alter our understanding of this experience. These poems also challenge us to reconsider what it means to be American. Impressive in its scope, this book provides readers with an astonishing array of poetic sensibilities, touching on every aspect of the human condition. Whether about culture, politics, loss, art, or language itself, the poems here engage these themes with originality, dignity, and an unyielding need not only to speak, but also to be heard. Here are thirty-nine poets offering up 160 poems. Included in the anthology are Naomi Shihab Nye, Samuel Hazo, D. H. Melhem, Lawrence Joseph, Khaled Mattawa, Mohja Khaf, Matthew Shenoda, Kazim Ali, Nuar Alsadir, Fady Joudah, and Lisa Suhair Majaj. Charara has written a lengthy introduction about the state of Arab American poetry in the country today and short biographies of the poets and provided an extensive list of further readings.

Hayan Charara

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