Difficult

by Rewa Zeinati

To what end do we admit the traumas we’ve inherited, the transgressions we’ve endured? How do we liberate our bodies from the choices we’ve made or the ones made on our behalf without permission? How do we transcend learned separateness and begin to move towards all that is perceived as not enough? How do we insist that it is in fact enough?

Paperback

Published May 31, 2024

About the author

Dubai-based, Lebanese-American poet and writer, Rewa Zeinati, is the founding editor of Sukoon Magazine (www.sukoonmag.com), an Arab-themed, English language, online literary journal.

Her poetry chapbook, Bullets & Orchids, is published by Corrupt Press (2013). http://corruptpress.net/?q=node/58

Her creative nonfiction book entitled, Nietzsche’s Camel Must Die: An Invitation to Say 'No', is published by xanadu* (2013).

Several of her poems, essays, interviews and translations have been published in literary journals and anthologies including, Natural Bridge Journal; Quiddity; Mizna; Al Jadid; The Atrium: A Journal of Academic Voices; The Santa Clara Review; Blood Lotus Journal; Cactus Heart Press; The Bicycle Review; Sampsonia Way Magazine; the anthology, Common Boundary: Stories of Immigration (Editions Bibiotekos, 2010); the anthology, Nowhere Near a Damn Rainbow: Unsanctioned Writing from the Middle East (xanadu*, 2012); the anthology, The UK Poetry Library’s Poets of 2012 (UK Poetry Library, 2012); as well as the online forums, The UK Poetry Library; Every Day Poets; and The English PEN Online World Atlas.

Reviews

[Madi · Rating 5 out of 5]

wonderful chapbook that touches so many subjects and emotions. truly beautiful poetry, and my favorite “kind” - several poems were the kind that bring you to the last few lines that take your breath away. i had the privilege of going to a reading of this early this fall that was really nice, and got this then. (also… they added this to goodreads because i requested it through the app’s help form so please know it was really that good and i think you should go read it too!!)

[Amira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Picked up this collection from a reading and absolutely loved it and its defiance. Will definitely be reading more from Zeinati!

[Wasen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am choosing not to overcomplicate this review because I have not come across poetry like this before. Rewa has a way with words and sentence structure that I can't seem to understand, but it makes you feel. She talks about hard topics and describes her emotions, and makes them feel like yours. And some of them are yours. It's as if she took the thoughts I have and gave them words in a new style of poetry (at least new to me).

In one poem, I felt like Rewa broke my heart, giving words to what we have witnessed and felt in the last year like no one else has.

She wrote

"And I've never seen
And I've never seen
And I've never seen

VIII.

But I've seen
how eyes can refuse forgetting."