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Time
An arresting new translation of poems, originally written in French, by one of our greatest philosopher poets.
On October 27, 2003, Adnan received a post card of a palm tree from the poet Khaled Najar, who she had met in the late seventies in Tunisia, sparking a collection of poems that would unspool over the next decade in a continuous discovery of the present moment. Originally written in French, these poems collapse time into single crystallized moments then explode outward to take in the scope of human history. In Time, we see an intertwining of war and love, coffee and bombs, empathetic observation and emphatic detail taken from both memory and the present of the poem to weave a tapestry of experience in non-linear time.
On October 27, 2003, Adnan received a post card of a palm tree from the poet Khaled Najar, who she had met in the late seventies in Tunisia, sparking a collection of poems that would unspool over the next decade in a continuous discovery of the present moment. Originally written in French, these poems collapse time into single crystallized moments then explode outward to take in the scope of human history. In Time, we see an intertwining of war and love, coffee and bombs, empathetic observation and emphatic detail taken from both memory and the present of the poem to weave a tapestry of experience in non-linear time.
- GenresPoetryNonfictionLebanon
144 pages, Paperback
First published June 18, 2019
23 people are currently reading
731 people want to read
About the author
Etel Adnan
91 books355 followersEtel 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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
December 4, 2022
The day is not made of
light, but of
will
[...]
There are moments when
the past ceases to be a form
of the present.
Rain and tears
Look alike.
light, but of
will
[...]
There are moments when
the past ceases to be a form
of the present.
Rain and tears
Look alike.
December 19, 2020
I prefer leaves
yellowed by the rain to
false victories.
...
I too have crossed the plains
that spread to infinity, while
happiness is encountered only in
bedrooms
...
there's a time in autumn when the
trees change their nature, and
wake up beyond
matter; then one sees them come
back to
their ordinary selves
***
don't leave your childhood, and its
sorrows. the first desire will
accompany you to the last
breath. streets lead to
illuminations, but never to peace
of the heart
...
the shadows jostle between
the walls of the scarcely visited cities.
time nips at our heels
we are afraid to arrive last
***
the season passes a rapid hand
through the trees; don't believe
the wind is absent-minded,
that sleep is guaranteed
***
fever took hold of time.
light is astonished by its own
brightness. thus begins the final
question:
what have I done with my childhood?
attention has its origin in
an impalpable fog.
rainy days, we become
plants
...
we preferred absence,
pain and silence to the frantic need
to see you. we are going to pay for it
for the rest of eternity
***
In a parallel sleep
I came back to a body and
love, there where time
never dared show itself
***
the sun is lying
on the tide of the century,
there's eternity
in the calendar of Being,
and, in my eyes,
a faded rose.
yellowed by the rain to
false victories.
...
I too have crossed the plains
that spread to infinity, while
happiness is encountered only in
bedrooms
...
there's a time in autumn when the
trees change their nature, and
wake up beyond
matter; then one sees them come
back to
their ordinary selves
***
don't leave your childhood, and its
sorrows. the first desire will
accompany you to the last
breath. streets lead to
illuminations, but never to peace
of the heart
...
the shadows jostle between
the walls of the scarcely visited cities.
time nips at our heels
we are afraid to arrive last
***
the season passes a rapid hand
through the trees; don't believe
the wind is absent-minded,
that sleep is guaranteed
***
fever took hold of time.
light is astonished by its own
brightness. thus begins the final
question:
what have I done with my childhood?
attention has its origin in
an impalpable fog.
rainy days, we become
plants
...
we preferred absence,
pain and silence to the frantic need
to see you. we are going to pay for it
for the rest of eternity
***
In a parallel sleep
I came back to a body and
love, there where time
never dared show itself
***
the sun is lying
on the tide of the century,
there's eternity
in the calendar of Being,
and, in my eyes,
a faded rose.
January 19, 2023
I first heard of Etel Adnan while reading Leïla Slimani’s memoir “La Parfum des Fleurs La Nuit“ earlier this year. Slimani had seen her work in Venice which are brightly coloured simple abstract pieces.* I was impressed and decided to check out her other side, poetry.
From her first poem I was struck by the lyrical, evocative work.
I say that I’m not afraid
of dying because I haven’t
yet had the experience
of death
on the walls of an overheated
bedroom images on paper
fade like bones in a bed
women love the night
which hides their
lack of love
(October 27, 2003, p. 9)
What a way to start the book. There are six poems here, all sparse and fleeting images of life, love, place and time. The first three poems, October 27, 2003; Friday, March 25th at 4 pm; and At 2 p.m. in the Afternoon are all time specific.
Return from London is a more reflective look at time.
we preferred absence,
pain and silence to the fantastic need
to see you. We are going to pay for it
for the rest of eternity
My personal favourite of the six is No Sky. Divided into 21 sections, it is more political, tough and to the point.
They killed a man with
a baseball bat
“Oh!” said the police
“What a poor game,”
(No Sky, I, p. 71)
Truths are
department stores:
you are going up,
you take the escalator,
you don’t come back
(No Sky, III, p. 76)
this morning I killed a fly
had I been a state
I would have destroyed a city
Death hanging from trees
rises higher than the eye
thoughts don’t project
shadow on the wall
(No Sky, IX, p. 87)
A reflection on Lebanon seen via the image of the great temple of Baalbek.
Here, the air
is dry
the living escape in
the form of impeccable horses
that run there,
between Lebanon and
anti-Lebanon
(Baalbek, p. 112)
Etel Adnan was born in Beirut in 1925. Her father was Syrian and her mother Greek where Etel spoke Arabic and Greek as a child. She studied philosophy at the Sorbonne, U.C. Berkeley and Harvard. After the Algerian War she took up painting and during the Vietnamese War, resumed writing poetry. She lived in Sausalito, California and Paris. Etel died on November 14, 2021. This book of poems was published in 2019.
*I first read about Adnan in an article a few years ago. It talked about how an older woman artist achieved fame with her art at the age of 87! This was Documenta 13 in 2012 in Kassel, Germany.
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news...
From her first poem I was struck by the lyrical, evocative work.
I say that I’m not afraid
of dying because I haven’t
yet had the experience
of death
on the walls of an overheated
bedroom images on paper
fade like bones in a bed
women love the night
which hides their
lack of love
(October 27, 2003, p. 9)
What a way to start the book. There are six poems here, all sparse and fleeting images of life, love, place and time. The first three poems, October 27, 2003; Friday, March 25th at 4 pm; and At 2 p.m. in the Afternoon are all time specific.
Return from London is a more reflective look at time.
we preferred absence,
pain and silence to the fantastic need
to see you. We are going to pay for it
for the rest of eternity
My personal favourite of the six is No Sky. Divided into 21 sections, it is more political, tough and to the point.
They killed a man with
a baseball bat
“Oh!” said the police
“What a poor game,”
(No Sky, I, p. 71)
Truths are
department stores:
you are going up,
you take the escalator,
you don’t come back
(No Sky, III, p. 76)
this morning I killed a fly
had I been a state
I would have destroyed a city
Death hanging from trees
rises higher than the eye
thoughts don’t project
shadow on the wall
(No Sky, IX, p. 87)
A reflection on Lebanon seen via the image of the great temple of Baalbek.
Here, the air
is dry
the living escape in
the form of impeccable horses
that run there,
between Lebanon and
anti-Lebanon
(Baalbek, p. 112)
Etel Adnan was born in Beirut in 1925. Her father was Syrian and her mother Greek where Etel spoke Arabic and Greek as a child. She studied philosophy at the Sorbonne, U.C. Berkeley and Harvard. After the Algerian War she took up painting and during the Vietnamese War, resumed writing poetry. She lived in Sausalito, California and Paris. Etel died on November 14, 2021. This book of poems was published in 2019.
*I first read about Adnan in an article a few years ago. It talked about how an older woman artist achieved fame with her art at the age of 87! This was Documenta 13 in 2012 in Kassel, Germany.
https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news...
January 22, 2021
"Writing comes from a dialogue
with time"
"We were born at the origin of sadness that's why our parties
are so dazzling. they end up burning children and houses"
Adnan writes beautiful, breathy poetry that somehow makes a delicate subject of death and destruction. I picked this book up in San Francisco nearly a year ago, and I am so glad I finally got around to reading it all the way through. These poems effortlessly weave their way through singular, personal experiences to large-scale events like war. Adnan's words bridge the gap between the lightness of daily experiences with the heaviness of conflict-related trauma. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book.
with time"
"We were born at the origin of sadness that's why our parties
are so dazzling. they end up burning children and houses"
Adnan writes beautiful, breathy poetry that somehow makes a delicate subject of death and destruction. I picked this book up in San Francisco nearly a year ago, and I am so glad I finally got around to reading it all the way through. These poems effortlessly weave their way through singular, personal experiences to large-scale events like war. Adnan's words bridge the gap between the lightness of daily experiences with the heaviness of conflict-related trauma. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book.
January 15, 2022
Wat een bijzonder aangename verrassing! De gedichten van Adnan zijn kleine bedachtzame observaties over Libanon, natuur, oorlog en het lichaam. Een zekere melancholie hangt over de bundel heen: 'memory is good for nothing / most of the time: the hotels where I waited / have disappeard.'
De vertaler Joost Beerten heeft twee gedichten van Adnan naar het Nederlands vertaald. Deze zijn ook zeer de moeite waard: https://www.de-gids.nl/artikelen/jenin
De vertaler Joost Beerten heeft twee gedichten van Adnan naar het Nederlands vertaald. Deze zijn ook zeer de moeite waard: https://www.de-gids.nl/artikelen/jenin
August 7, 2022
heel mooi, maar heb het gevoel dat ik het op een ander moment nog mooier ga vinden
January 1, 2022
Beautiful ✨
February 7, 2023
As is too often the case, I bought this collection—my first by poet and artist Etel Adnan—after her death in November of 2021 at the age of 96. The daughter of an Arab Muslim father and a Greek Christian mother, she grew up in Lebanon speaking Greek and Arabic at home but studying French at school. She lived much of her life in Paris and America. A number of themes recur throughout the six sequences of poems collected here—longing for Greece, memories of war, the body and desire, and thoughts of death. I want to spend some more time with this beautiful work before gathering my thoughts into a longer review.
November 6, 2022
Excerpts:
Love; a freshness of
time,
the annihilation of the body by
the body,
the liberation of
the mind
(from “No Sky”)
time can’t be translated
your voice in my veins
grows its poisonous plants
(from “At 2 p.m. in the Afternoon”)
I am half of the universe
will I ever be a whole being?
silence
and empty garden,
more ephemeral than a cloud
I am a speck
(from “No Sky”)
Love; a freshness of
time,
the annihilation of the body by
the body,
the liberation of
the mind
(from “No Sky”)
time can’t be translated
your voice in my veins
grows its poisonous plants
(from “At 2 p.m. in the Afternoon”)
I am half of the universe
will I ever be a whole being?
silence
and empty garden,
more ephemeral than a cloud
I am a speck
(from “No Sky”)
February 26, 2022
"if we write, it's that we can't
sing, if we sleep, it's that we
can't live"
sing, if we sleep, it's that we
can't live"
Read
December 26, 2024Recommended and accessible poetry.
November 14, 2023
One of the best poetry books I’ve read in 2023.
My entry point of Etel Adnan is through “The Sea and Fog”. Not really memorable. “Night” was better. But after reading this collection, on one hand, I kinda wished I read “Time” first. On the other hand, I’m glad the climax reached from the transition, starting with SF, then Night, and finally Time was a great payoff.
My entry point of Etel Adnan is through “The Sea and Fog”. Not really memorable. “Night” was better. But after reading this collection, on one hand, I kinda wished I read “Time” first. On the other hand, I’m glad the climax reached from the transition, starting with SF, then Night, and finally Time was a great payoff.
April 15, 2024
in this house we stan etel
October 12, 2024
Beautiful, riveting poetry for people that dare to live on the shore: in language, in geography, and in spirit.
“light in free fall
sounds like a stream
which is the language of matter”
“light in free fall
sounds like a stream
which is the language of matter”
October 29, 2022
“And the young wait on some beaches for the sun to repeat itself” just rip my heart out thank you
May 15, 2020
Time is divided into a suite of six extended lyrics where the sections - titled ‘October 27, 2003’ or ‘At 2 p.m. in the Afternoon’ etc. - read like timestamps or postcards, intimate correspondences. These lucid, breathy poems are always philosophically probing as if “thrown out from the depths / to the luminous mortal surface / of the sea”. Adnan works on a cosmic scale, ruminating on time, oblivion, mortality, antiquity. Roaming far and wide these poems seem to be carried by the hot, Mediterranean winds she often writes about, blending war and love, coffee and bombs, optimism and frustration. Time is fluid and ambient, it unravels and collapses; time speeds up at the beginning of the Iraq War where Adnan, in Paris, must “flee the hole in the air / created by a bomb in / a Baghdad suburb”, or time can slow down in the bedroom of two lesbian lovers in California as “history unfurls” underneath their sheets. Tonally this book rarely strays far from Adnan's characteristic style however as a yearning meditation on time and homeland, a calendar for the “wounds / that wait for the heart / to dress them”, Time offers a luxurious read.
September 28, 2024
Time is a multifaceted work of art that defies easy categorization. It is a collection of prose poems, a philosophical meditation, and a visual exploration of time and memory. Adnan's unique blend of poetry, philosophy, and visual art creates a deeply evocative and thought-provoking work.
The central theme of Time is the passage of time and its impact on memory. Adnan explores how time shapes our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. She suggests that memory is not a fixed entity but rather a fluid and ever-changing process. Adnan's writing is deeply connected to the natural world. She often uses descriptions of landscapes and natural phenomena to convey her philosophical ideas. The natural world serves as a metaphor for the cyclical nature of time and the interconnectedness of all things.
Time is infused with philosophical and spiritual ideas. Adnan draws on a variety of philosophical traditions, including Greek philosophy and Sufism, to explore questions of existence, meaning, and the nature of reality. Adnan's prose poems are often accompanied by her own drawings and paintings. These visual elements complement the textual content, adding depth and complexity to the overall work.
Adnan's writing is characterized by its brevity and evocative language. She uses minimal words to convey powerful ideas, relying on imagery and symbolism to create a rich and textured experience. Time does not follow a traditional narrative structure. Instead, it is a collection of interconnected fragments that explore different aspects of time and memory. This nonlinear approach reflects the fluid and non-linear nature of time itself.
The integration of Adnan's visual art with her prose poems creates a unique and dynamic reading experience. The images complement and enhance the textual content, inviting readers to engage with the work on multiple levels. Etel Adnan's Time is a significant contribution to contemporary literature and art. It is a work that challenges traditional notions of time, memory, and the role of the artist. Adnan's ability to combine poetry, philosophy, and visual art creates a deeply evocative and thought-provoking experience that continues to resonate with readers today.
The central theme of Time is the passage of time and its impact on memory. Adnan explores how time shapes our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. She suggests that memory is not a fixed entity but rather a fluid and ever-changing process. Adnan's writing is deeply connected to the natural world. She often uses descriptions of landscapes and natural phenomena to convey her philosophical ideas. The natural world serves as a metaphor for the cyclical nature of time and the interconnectedness of all things.
Time is infused with philosophical and spiritual ideas. Adnan draws on a variety of philosophical traditions, including Greek philosophy and Sufism, to explore questions of existence, meaning, and the nature of reality. Adnan's prose poems are often accompanied by her own drawings and paintings. These visual elements complement the textual content, adding depth and complexity to the overall work.
Adnan's writing is characterized by its brevity and evocative language. She uses minimal words to convey powerful ideas, relying on imagery and symbolism to create a rich and textured experience. Time does not follow a traditional narrative structure. Instead, it is a collection of interconnected fragments that explore different aspects of time and memory. This nonlinear approach reflects the fluid and non-linear nature of time itself.
The integration of Adnan's visual art with her prose poems creates a unique and dynamic reading experience. The images complement and enhance the textual content, inviting readers to engage with the work on multiple levels. Etel Adnan's Time is a significant contribution to contemporary literature and art. It is a work that challenges traditional notions of time, memory, and the role of the artist. Adnan's ability to combine poetry, philosophy, and visual art creates a deeply evocative and thought-provoking experience that continues to resonate with readers today.
March 24, 2023
There is a poem in it, that appealed to me when I picked up the book the first time. It seems to be missing now and I keep running into
laziness-with it's inebriating effects-
is the wine of the poor, and of those
who wander among them
So, I skipped most of it, reasons not sure, maybe the couplet approach or of translation from french so the wide sings of locations and topics or something lost in time.
laziness-with it's inebriating effects-
is the wine of the poor, and of those
who wander among them
So, I skipped most of it, reasons not sure, maybe the couplet approach or of translation from french so the wide sings of locations and topics or something lost in time.
March 10, 2021
I thought the concept of this book - postcards to a friend - is beautiful and touching. The poems within are evocative, despite their length able to convey deep meaning and ask provoking questions. I think that would be my most loved facet of Adnan's work as a whole - the questioning. A true mark of a poet and experiencer of the world.
September 25, 2021
Poem sequences that began after getting a postcard from a friend. According to the translator, Sarah Riggs' note, the poems act as a 'correspondence, a poetry of the postcard.' "Writing comes from a dialogue with time: it's made of a mirror in which thought is stripped and no longer knows itself."
Adnan's book provides much to ponder.
Adnan's book provides much to ponder.
August 21, 2025
Beautiful and aphoristic. Like the I Ching written in bits on postcards by the wandering exile through valleys of death and those filled with life. I finished the last poem and started reading it right over again.
February 29, 2020
This was a lovely translation. I’d love to do more research into Etel Adnan’s process for writing in correspondence. The work was very sweet and precise.
Read
July 11, 2020I was just not that into this.
Read
July 22, 2020Very evocative and aphoristic.
October 4, 2020
4.5 stars. A solid and beautiful work on time, war, life,
Memory, and so much more. Definitely a book to savor.
Memory, and so much more. Definitely a book to savor.
September 15, 2022
3.5
Although i quite liked it I suppose it so much better in its original language
Although i quite liked it I suppose it so much better in its original language
February 4, 2024
quietly stunning. If this book were a time, it would be 2-4 on a warm August afternoon, with clouds forming and dissipating in the distance.
March 29, 2025
Mesmerizing
September 17, 2025
To think that I was naked under the
waves and overhead, the words
forming islands of blood
and tears...
waves and overhead, the words
forming islands of blood
and tears...
April 13, 2024
favourite lines:
“writing comes from a dialogue with time”
“the sea waits for the end of the living”
“in the rose-coloured song of a bedroom, a deserted love, and the lost time of trees”
“when the heart ceases to mark the hour, grass grows at the edge of scars”
“love; a freshness of time, the annihilation of the body by the body, a liberation of the mind”
“persistence of the waves the sea recedes to the skyline”
“this morning I killed a fly / had I been a State / I would have destroyed a city”
“The self is an image of an image, a postcard”
“In not letting you forget me / I forced sadness to spatter the walls”
“Nothing is closer to the sacred than nothingness.”
“there’s eternity in the calendar of Being”
“There are moments when the past ceases to be a form of the present. Rain and tears look alike.”
“Ruins are relics.”
“writing comes from a dialogue with time”
“the sea waits for the end of the living”
“in the rose-coloured song of a bedroom, a deserted love, and the lost time of trees”
“when the heart ceases to mark the hour, grass grows at the edge of scars”
“love; a freshness of time, the annihilation of the body by the body, a liberation of the mind”
“persistence of the waves the sea recedes to the skyline”
“this morning I killed a fly / had I been a State / I would have destroyed a city”
“The self is an image of an image, a postcard”
“In not letting you forget me / I forced sadness to spatter the walls”
“Nothing is closer to the sacred than nothingness.”
“there’s eternity in the calendar of Being”
“There are moments when the past ceases to be a form of the present. Rain and tears look alike.”
“Ruins are relics.”
Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews