Here we present two poems, “Distorted Dreams” and “Meditations,” in both their Arabic originals and English, from the new volume published by City Lights, Gaza: The Poem Said Its Piece, translated by Ammiel Alcalay, Emna Zgal and Khaled Al-Hilli. Like Mandelstam, Akhmatova, and Vallejo, Gazan poet Nasser Rabah embodies the magnificent possibilities of the human spirit and imagination under extreme conditions.
Nasser Rabah
This is Rabah’s first book in English translation. The poems include a selection from three of his published collections, along with new poems written after October 2023, during the full-scale Israeli assault on Gaza.
Gaza: The Poem Said Its Piece is published by City Lights.
Nasser Rabah
Nasser Rabah was born in Gaza in 1963. He got his BA in Agricultural Science in 1985, before going on to work as Director of the Communication Department in the Agriculture Ministry. He is a member of the Palestinian Writers... Read more
Nasser Rabah
Nasser Rabah was born in Gaza in 1963. He got his BA in Agricultural Science in 1985, before going on to work as Director of the Communication Department in the Agriculture Ministry. He is a member of the Palestinian Writers and Authors Union and has published five collections of poetry, Running After Dead Gazelles (2003); One of Nobody (2011); Passersby with Light Clothes (2014); Water Thirsty for Water (2017); Eulogy for the Robin (2021), and two novels, Since Approximately an Hour (2018), and The Enclosure of the Gazelle (2024). Some of his poems have been translated into English, French and Hebrew. His latest book is Gaza: The Poem Said Its Piece (City Lights 2025). He lives in Gaza. Read less
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