The wild fox of Yemen : poems / Threa Almontaser.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Almontaser, Threa, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

New York (N.Y.)--Poetry.

New York (N.Y.).

Muslim women--Poetry.

Muslim women.

Yemen (Republic)--Poetry.

Yemen (Republic).

Arabic poetry.

New York (State)--New York.

Genre:

poetry.

Poetry.

Physical Description:

101 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm

Place of Publication:

Minneapolis, Minnesota : Graywolf Press, [2021]

Summary:

By turns aggressively reckless and fiercely protective, always guided by faith and ancestry, Threa Almontaser's incendiary debut asks how mistranslation can be a form of self-knowledge and survival. A love letter to the country and people of Yemen, a portrait of young Muslim womanhood in New York after 9/11, and an extraordinarily composed examination of what it means to carry in the body the echoes of what came before, Almontaser's polyvocal collection sneaks artifacts to and from worlds, repurposing language and adapting to the space between cultures. Half-crunk and hungry, speakers move with the force of what cannot be contained by the limits of the American imagination, and instead invest in troublemaking and trickery, navigate imperial violence across multiple accents and anthems, and apply gang signs in henna, utilizing any means necessary to form a semblance of home. In doing so,The Wild Fox of Yemen fearlessly rides the tension between carnality and tenderness in the unruly human spirit.

Contents:

I. Hunting girliness

Stained skin

Muslim girl with white guys, ending at the edge of a ridge

Recognized language

Etymology of hair

Shaytan sneaks bites of my tuna sandwich

Muslim with dog

Dream interpretation [apricot]

Pig flesh

Portrait of this country

When people are cursed

Feast, beginning w/ a kissed blade

II. Hunger wraps himself

Guide to gardening your roots

Operation restoring hope

Yemen rising as poorest country in the world

Coffee Arabica as a maelstrom of endless aftershocks

The snapping turtles in Ta'iz have beards

Dream interpretation [fox]

At the summit, he finds a nest

Hidden bombs in my coochie

Home security after 9/11

My president asks me about redemption

III. Heritage emissary

I thicken the room w/ dim mirrors & an altar of aliens, waiting for a sign

My father finds home through the birds

Dream interpretation [sea]

After running away from another marriage proposal

I crack an egg

Middle Eastern music

Please take off your shoes before entering

And that fast, you're thinking about their bodies

Why I am silent about the lament

Catasterism

When white boys ask to see my hair

Ode to bodega cats.

Notes:

Walt Whitman Award, 2020

Arab American Book Award - The George Ellenbogen Poetry Award, Winner, 2022

ISBN:

9781644450505

164445050X

OCLC:

1153554301