Under Brushstrokes

by Hedy Habra

Hedy Habra's Under Brushstrokes is a rich tapestry of images, sounds and meanings. Like any tapestry the complexity of weaving, the craft and artistry are often under or subliminal to the larger images, and in this way the book lives up to its title in that there is so much foundation that goes into the building of an image and giving the image not only meanings but breath and life itself. Enjoy Under Brushstrokes , it is meant to be read and read again.  -J.P. Dancing Bear, Editor, The American Poetry Journal

106 pages, Paperback

Published September 1, 2015

About the author

Hedy Habra was born in Egypt, and is of Lebanese origin. She has authored four poetry collections, most recently, Or Did You Ever See The Other Side? (Press 53 2023). The Taste of the Earth won the Silver Nautilus Award and honorable mention for the Eric Hoffer Award, and was finalist for the Best Book Award. Her ekphrastic collection, Under Brushstrokes, was finalist for the USA Best Book Award and the International Book Award, and her first collection, Tea in Heliopolis, won the USA Best Book Award and was finalist for the International Book Award. Her story collection, Flying Carpets, won the Arab American National Book Award’s Honorable Mention and was finalist for the Eric Hoffer Award.
Her book of literary criticism, Mundos alternos y artísticos en Vargas Llosa focuses on the visual in the narrative of the Peruvian Nobel Laureate. A recipient of the Nazim Hikmet Poetry Award, she was a twenty-one-time nominee for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Habra has a BA in Pharmacy. She also has an MA and MFA in English and an MA and Ph.D. in Spanish. She is fluent in five languages and her work appears in The Bitter Oleander, Blue Fifth Review, California Quarterly, Cider Press Review, Cimarron Review, The Cortland Review, Cutthroat, Diode, The Ekphrastic Review, Gargoyle, Indelible, The MacGuffin, MockingHeart Review, Nimrod, Pirene's Fountain, Poet Lore, Slant, Tiferet, World Literature Today and Verse Daily. Habra is also an artist who has a passion for art. She has taught Spanish at Western Michigan University and Kalamazoo College. Her website is hedyhabra.com

Reviews

[World Literature Today]

"Each poem takes on a different work of art as the poet enables the reader to become intimate with the likes of Brauer, Van Gogh, and Klimt. Habra does not describe the artworks but instead uses the images as a basis for her exploration of the surreal and the dreaming psyche. Although the poems in this wonderful collection all respond to art in one way or another, the poems themselves, which alternate between prose and verse, are so connected to the artworks they discuss that they manage to stand on their own." - Nicole Fares

This book was reviewed in the January 2016 issue of World Literature Today magazine. Read the full review by visiting our website: http://www.worldliteraturetoday.org/2...

[Helene Cardona · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hedy Habra is insanely talented. A magnificent poet and artist her collection UNDER BRUSHSTROKES is a total delight.