My Voice Sought the Wind

by Susan Abulhawa

“I wrote poetry before I wrote anything else,” says Susan Abulhawa, esteemed Palestinian-American author and social activist, in the introduction to her first book of poems, My Voice Sought the Wind. This new work followed her highly acclaimed novel, Mornings in Jenin, which has been translated into 32 languages since it was published in 2010.

My Voice Sought the Wind represents five years of Abulhawa's best poems on the timeless themes of love, loss, identity, and family, brought to life through her vivid observations and intimate personal reflections. She writes from her own experience, with a style that is romantic, but tinged with disillusionment, often a bit sad and always introspective.

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Middle East

128 pages, Paperback

First published November 19, 2013

About the author

Also Susan Abulhawa
(Arabic: سوزان أبو الهوى)

susan abulhawa was born to refugees of the 1967 war when Israel captured what remained of Palestine, including Jerusalem. She currently lives in Pennsylvania with her daughter. She is the founder and President of Playgrounds for Palestine, a children’s organization dedicated to upholding The Right to Play for Palestinian children. Her debut novel, Mornings in Jenin, was an international bestseller, translated into 30 languages. Her second novel, The Blue Between Sky and Water, was likewise a bestseller, translated into 20 languages. The reach of her books and volume of her readership have made abulhawa one of the most widely read Arab authors in the world. Her latest novel, Against the Loveless World is out August 25, 2020.

Reviews

[Susan Abulhawa · Rating 5 out of 5]

i wrote this. again, my rating is not really relevant to readers. the poems in this collection were written over five years, without an intention to publish. some are very personal.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not one for poetry but received this as a gift. It turned out to be one of the few poetry books I've enjoyed. So many of the poems touched me deeply. The author is truly a gifted writer.

[Aya Al-Zinati · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The Gift of Olive Oil" by Susan Abulhawa
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEqaiM...

[˗ˏˋ♡withlovewidad♡ˎˊ˗ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adjusting my rating. This is a solid 3, but some poems would bring this up to a 3.75.

susan's writing shines better in her novels than this collection (and there's a poem here that rubs me the wrong way..) but! I enjoyed how she captured the feelings of yearning, diaspora, and frustration.

quotes

part of the intro
Then, long after I learned to sleep to silence, long after my exile brought me to foreignness in English, I woke up one day and understood that Arabic had been stolen from my tongue. Or maybe it ran away on its own accord, like a neglected child might do. I missi it terribly. I have phantom pains where the poems used to be, before they were amputated as I slept to silence.
---- ---- ---- ----
Inheart
In music beats
The ocean meanders
And wanders
And plays
Inheart

Tides of song
And waves of stillness
A ribbon untied

A mockery is made
Of a decision
That is made and remade

It's the heart
The damned heart

Sometimes crazy
Petulant and submissive
Wild and pliant
Unforgiving
But always knowing

Like the ocean
It knows
Never tells or asks

Demands
Come in waves

Where it's just me
And the ocean
Inheart

---- ---- ---- ----

[Ghada · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think Susan fits in novel's writing more than poetry. But this one is still one of the few poetry books I read and liked for the true depiction of the persona that touches something in the reader, and for Susan's Palestinian identity that insists to impose itself in everything she writes.

[Foxglove · Rating 1 out of 5]

My god, how naval gazing.

[mohamed mustafa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love this one. She can do no wrong, for me at least.

[Medeea Em · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ravishing. Leaves you staring into the void

[Rolf · Rating 5 out of 5]

I already knew I loved Abulhawa’s prose, and after reading this collection, I hope she writes more poetry. A beautiful collection of political poetry that addresses the Palestinian experience, alongside lovely Neruda-inspired love poetry. Favorites include “Sister Palestinian I,” the story of a Palestinian woman left by her husband, “Wala,” an incredibly evocative description of the daily dehumanization experienced by Palestinian workers who have to commute through IDF checkpoints, “Quis, Your Layla Speaks,” a lovely love poem, and “A Wish I Wish For You,” a short-but-sweet bit of inspiration for any reader.

[T.L. Cooper · Rating 5 out of 5]

My Voice Sought the Wind by Susan Abulhawa is beautifully intense and intensely beautiful in its honesty and expression. The poems often seem simple at first glance but contain quite a bit of depth, often in only a few lines. Abulhawa expresses her experiences and her observations with an openness that is touching and engaging. Within her poems lies the humanity that lives inside all of us and reminds us all that we can find more in common than we think if we just stop to see each other. I thoroughly enjoyed My Voice Sought the Wind and was a little sad when I got to the end because there wasn't more to read.