To look at the sea is to become what one is: An Etel Adnan Reader

by Etel Adnan, Thom Donovan (Editor), Brandon Shimoda (Editor)

This landmark two-volume edition follows Adnan’s work from the infernal elegies of the 1960s to the ethereal meditations of her later poems, to form a portrait of an extraordinarily impassioned and prescient life. Ranging between essay, fiction, poetry, memoir, feminist manifesto, and philosophical treatise, while often challenging the conventions of genre, Adnan’s works give voice to the violence and revelation of the last six decades as it has centered, in part, within the geopolitics of the Arab world, and in particular the author’s native Beirut. Among the key works reproduced in their entirety are Sitt Marie Rose (1978); The Arab Apocalypse (1980); Journey to Mount Tamalpais (1986); and Of Cities & Women (1993).

Genres: Poetry, Nonfiction, Middle East

392 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2014

About the author

Etel Adnan was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1925. She studied philosophy at the Sorbonne, U.C. Berkeley, and at Harvard, and taught at Dominican College in San Rafael, California, from 1958–1972.

In solidarity with the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962), Adnan began to resist the political implications of writing in French and became a painter. Then, through her participation in the movement against the Vietnam War (1959–1975), she began to write poetry and became, in her words, “an American poet.” In 1972, she returned to Beirut and worked as cultural editor for two daily newspapers—first for Al Safa, then for L’Orient le Jour. Her novel Sitt Marie-Rose, published in Paris in 1977, won the France-Pays Arabes award and has been translated into more than ten languages.

In 1977, Adnan re-established herself in California, making Sausalito her home, with frequent stays in Paris. Adnan is the author of more than a dozen books in English, including Journey to Mount Tamalpais (1986), The Arab Apocalypse (1989), In the Heart of the Heart of Another Country (2005), and Sea and Fog (2012), winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Lesbian Poetry and the California Book Award for Poetry. Her most recent books are Night (2016) and Surge (2018). In 2014, she was awarded one of France’s highest cultural honors: l’Ordre de Chevalier des Arts et Lettres. Numerous museums have presented solo exhibitions of Adnan’s work, including SFMoMA; Zentrum Paul Klee; Institute du Monde Arabe, Paris; Serpentine Galleries; and Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, Qatar.

Reviews

[Leena Aboutaleb · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spent two years carrying these volumes around in my bag every day. Constantly returning to Etel’s work gave (gives) such a expanse of language. Her work is thoughtful, sharp and a true gaze into another world — one that is still grounded in ours. Truly a mark on generations in the Arab world and beyond, we are indebted to Etel.

[Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I had more than five stars for this one. I had to read it slowly because it is so dense, and so multivalent. It was worth living with this great life's work.

[prisca💋 · Rating 5 out of 5]

“le destin va ramener les étés sombres.” était juste SOMPTUEUX 🥹

[Deborah Poe · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Bloomberg Rissman and I engage with Adnan's landmark, 2-part edition.

https://www.academia.edu/12365958/To_...

[Whtvrs · Rating 4 out of 5]

the editors & translators I think did a good job just didn’t like every poem in here

[feebee . · Rating 5 out of 5]

etel has such a distinct and vivid voice, such a powerful anthology!! this is the most voraciously i’ve ever consumed poetry and i am drawn back to it so regularly.

[Diane B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will be searching more of this author's writings. She has such an incredible sense of place and character and is so evocative. She stirs feelings and emotions like a wizard. This anthology is a wonderful sample of the breadth of her work

Of Cities and Women/Letters to Fawwaz
are written from musings exploring the cities of Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Pireus, New York. Capturing the sights and sounds they transport you to the place, while time traveling to past times in history and questioning the balance of the masculine and feminine. Wonderful.

To Be in a Time of War
is a relentless account of tumbling thoughts, of the mundane and profane. Brilliant.

At Both Ends
questions the poetry of Lawrence of Arabia, "sands cover stacks of dreams and count forgotten passions." The author surfaces discomfiting rumours about how Lawrence endured a gang rape, and later in life entered into a marriage that may or may not have been. "One doesn't adopt the ways of the desert with impunity: the sun, for one, and other creatures, won't let you be in peace; only the stars, at night will keep you company; but these cold beings, closer to diamonds than lovers, will inflame your imagination into fever and disease."

Sea
is a mystical account of the mingling of the elements and existential dilemma. Profound.

[Carrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now I want the Complete