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The Lost Arabs
Award-winning Arab Australian poet Omar Sakr presents a pulsating collection of poetry that interrogates the bonds and borders of family, faith, queerness, and nationality.
Visceral and energetic, Sakr’s poetry confronts the complicated notion of “belonging” when one’s family, culture, and country are at odds with one’s personal identity. Braiding together sexuality and divinity, conflict and redemption, The Lost Arabs is a fierce, urgent collection from a distinct new voice.
Visceral and energetic, Sakr’s poetry confronts the complicated notion of “belonging” when one’s family, culture, and country are at odds with one’s personal identity. Braiding together sexuality and divinity, conflict and redemption, The Lost Arabs is a fierce, urgent collection from a distinct new voice.
112 pages, Paperback
First published April 30, 2019
23 people are currently reading
1882 people want to read
About the author
Omar Sakr
20 books189 followersOmar Sakr is an Arab Australian Muslim poet born and raised in Western Sydney. His debut collection of poetry, THESE WILD HOUSES (Cordite Books, 2017), was shortlisted for the Judith Wright Calanthe award and the Kenneth Slessor Poetry Prize. His new book, THE LOST ARABS (UQP, 2019) was shortlisted for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards, the John Bray Poetry Award, the Queensland Literary Awards, and the Colin Roderick Award. In 2020 he won the Woollahra Digital Literary Award for Poetry.
He has been anthologised in Best Australian Poems 2016 (Black Inc), and in Contemporary Australian Poetry (Puncher & Wattmann). His short fiction includes, 'An Arab Werewolf in Liverpool' in 'KINDRED: 12 Queer YA Stories' (Walker Books, 2019), and 'White Flu' in AFTER AUSTRALIA (Affirm Press, 2020). His essays have appeared most recently in MEANJIN (Autumn, 2019), MEET ME AT THE INTERSECTION (Fremantle, 2018) and GOING POSTAL (Brow Books, 2018).
He has been anthologised in Best Australian Poems 2016 (Black Inc), and in Contemporary Australian Poetry (Puncher & Wattmann). His short fiction includes, 'An Arab Werewolf in Liverpool' in 'KINDRED: 12 Queer YA Stories' (Walker Books, 2019), and 'White Flu' in AFTER AUSTRALIA (Affirm Press, 2020). His essays have appeared most recently in MEANJIN (Autumn, 2019), MEET ME AT THE INTERSECTION (Fremantle, 2018) and GOING POSTAL (Brow Books, 2018).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 97 reviews
June 22, 2020
'We are so much to so many
but the least of all to ourselves.'
One of my 2020 reading resolutions is to read more in other literary forms, like poetry, plays and graphic novels. I think a big stumbling block in dipping a toe in unfamiliar waters is that you are unaware how deep it goes. Or where the rapids are.
So my strategy from the outset is simply to choose poetry that catches my attention, and to basically go with the flow. My experience in rating poetry and becoming more familiar with the overall genre itself is something that will follow with time. Of course, I am more than likely to make mistakes in my critiques and in my reading choices. But fear of making such mistakes cannot be an impediment to growth.
I do believe that there is a hierarchy of both literary form and genre, and that poetry tends to be at the bottom of the rung for whatever reason, along with short story collections. This is ironic, given the increasing demands on our attention spans and the limited time we are able to devote to reading.
One thing I can say from the outset though is: Do not underestimate poetry as being an easier or quicker reading experience because the books seem slimmer. Instead, it is much more intense and demanding. But, as I have found here, it also extremely rewarding.
Ironically, in a 14 January 2020 interview with readingpoetry.com, Omar Sakr himself talks about his own innate prejudice towards poetry: “I didn’t read much of it growing up, and I always had a skewed perception of it as being old-fashioned, elitist, white, and concerning subjects that had nothing to do with me. As such, I detested it.”
The Lost Arabs immediately caught my eye. A 2017 ABC Radio National headline labels Sakr as ‘Australia’s queer Arab poet’. The author bio in The Lost Arabs refers to him as being bisexual, though Sakr does not make such a distinction in his debut collection, These Wild Houses, where he states proudly: “Now you are about to read the life of a queer Muslim Arab Australian from Western Sydney, from a broke and broken family …”
Sakr clearly has a lot to say about labelling and pigeon-holing. The Lost Arabs explores the acute intersectionality of his identity and sexuality with a rawness and emotional resonance that is deeply powerful. It is affronted and outraged when it needs to be, and graceful and nuanced in its quieter and more reflective moments. It made its mark on my heart. And I will definitely be reading more poetry.
but the least of all to ourselves.'
One of my 2020 reading resolutions is to read more in other literary forms, like poetry, plays and graphic novels. I think a big stumbling block in dipping a toe in unfamiliar waters is that you are unaware how deep it goes. Or where the rapids are.
So my strategy from the outset is simply to choose poetry that catches my attention, and to basically go with the flow. My experience in rating poetry and becoming more familiar with the overall genre itself is something that will follow with time. Of course, I am more than likely to make mistakes in my critiques and in my reading choices. But fear of making such mistakes cannot be an impediment to growth.
I do believe that there is a hierarchy of both literary form and genre, and that poetry tends to be at the bottom of the rung for whatever reason, along with short story collections. This is ironic, given the increasing demands on our attention spans and the limited time we are able to devote to reading.
One thing I can say from the outset though is: Do not underestimate poetry as being an easier or quicker reading experience because the books seem slimmer. Instead, it is much more intense and demanding. But, as I have found here, it also extremely rewarding.
Ironically, in a 14 January 2020 interview with readingpoetry.com, Omar Sakr himself talks about his own innate prejudice towards poetry: “I didn’t read much of it growing up, and I always had a skewed perception of it as being old-fashioned, elitist, white, and concerning subjects that had nothing to do with me. As such, I detested it.”
The Lost Arabs immediately caught my eye. A 2017 ABC Radio National headline labels Sakr as ‘Australia’s queer Arab poet’. The author bio in The Lost Arabs refers to him as being bisexual, though Sakr does not make such a distinction in his debut collection, These Wild Houses, where he states proudly: “Now you are about to read the life of a queer Muslim Arab Australian from Western Sydney, from a broke and broken family …”
Sakr clearly has a lot to say about labelling and pigeon-holing. The Lost Arabs explores the acute intersectionality of his identity and sexuality with a rawness and emotional resonance that is deeply powerful. It is affronted and outraged when it needs to be, and graceful and nuanced in its quieter and more reflective moments. It made its mark on my heart. And I will definitely be reading more poetry.
July 9, 2019
“How many times must one be born
before it is considered final? Poets know
not to mark the day. A thousand births
can take place in a year & a year
on some planets lasts a lifetime.”(23)
How we name ourselves, how we identify, how we exist: These are so incredibly pivotal to how we engage with the world. Omar Sakr knows this and in his collection 'The Lost Arabs' explores his places and spaces in Turkish, Lebanese and Australian culture. In many poetry collections, there are a few poems that falter, only a few standing strong. Sakr however, is powerful, each poem punching and pulling you through. You hold your breath as you read.
'The Lost Arabs' follows Sakr's identity. He navigates his bisexuality, his relationship with religion, with his mother and father, with home, technology and a variety of other things. I only share a few similarities, but the ones I do, stand bold. Sakr's line by line lyricism locks you into place and urges you to keep reading. I fear I read this too fast, I hope I will continue reading this (and that future generations, students perhaps, get to study this and understand it on a truly visceral level).
"all my knowledge is myth-made, media-driven,
an inherited memory washed by a generation of tired hands." (5).
The collection reads more like autobiography than anything. You get to understand Sakr at his heart. He refers over and over again to 'the poem' or 'the poet' reminding his readers of their reality. Beckoning them to question their own place. Their choices. He highlights the dangers of colonialism, of biphobia and warns us against potential futures, 'at the site of the future memorial' a poem title repeating over and over again. Sakr employs repetition with power. Distinct and alarming. Alongside this, we are met with alliterative ambiance, the words dance off your tongue, I cannot comprehend how powerfully each is selected.
"I keep looking to the world for a salvation
it has never known, keep winging towards a word
like water, a mirror, a mover, a matter, a mother,
a word closer to but not as smoothing as solace." (66).
I am haunted by Sakr's words. I can feel myself drifting into research and wanting to read up every bit of information I can about him, resonating on another level. 'The Lost Arabs' will affect your very soul. In reading it, you will find your homes. Sakr has easily made it into my favourite poets and I will definitely be reading more of his work.
Favourite Poems:
On the Way to Sydney, 7
Arabs in Space, 17
Birthday 22
Factoids, 27
Instead, Memory, 31
Choose Your Own Erasure, 40
Do Not Rush, 50
Self-Portrait as Poetry Defending Itself, 66
How to endure the final hours, 79
Self-Portrair of What Graces the Night 81
Blues 82.
Sakr. Thank you.
before it is considered final? Poets know
not to mark the day. A thousand births
can take place in a year & a year
on some planets lasts a lifetime.”(23)
How we name ourselves, how we identify, how we exist: These are so incredibly pivotal to how we engage with the world. Omar Sakr knows this and in his collection 'The Lost Arabs' explores his places and spaces in Turkish, Lebanese and Australian culture. In many poetry collections, there are a few poems that falter, only a few standing strong. Sakr however, is powerful, each poem punching and pulling you through. You hold your breath as you read.
'The Lost Arabs' follows Sakr's identity. He navigates his bisexuality, his relationship with religion, with his mother and father, with home, technology and a variety of other things. I only share a few similarities, but the ones I do, stand bold. Sakr's line by line lyricism locks you into place and urges you to keep reading. I fear I read this too fast, I hope I will continue reading this (and that future generations, students perhaps, get to study this and understand it on a truly visceral level).
"all my knowledge is myth-made, media-driven,
an inherited memory washed by a generation of tired hands." (5).
The collection reads more like autobiography than anything. You get to understand Sakr at his heart. He refers over and over again to 'the poem' or 'the poet' reminding his readers of their reality. Beckoning them to question their own place. Their choices. He highlights the dangers of colonialism, of biphobia and warns us against potential futures, 'at the site of the future memorial' a poem title repeating over and over again. Sakr employs repetition with power. Distinct and alarming. Alongside this, we are met with alliterative ambiance, the words dance off your tongue, I cannot comprehend how powerfully each is selected.
"I keep looking to the world for a salvation
it has never known, keep winging towards a word
like water, a mirror, a mover, a matter, a mother,
a word closer to but not as smoothing as solace." (66).
I am haunted by Sakr's words. I can feel myself drifting into research and wanting to read up every bit of information I can about him, resonating on another level. 'The Lost Arabs' will affect your very soul. In reading it, you will find your homes. Sakr has easily made it into my favourite poets and I will definitely be reading more of his work.
Favourite Poems:
On the Way to Sydney, 7
Arabs in Space, 17
Birthday 22
Factoids, 27
Instead, Memory, 31
Choose Your Own Erasure, 40
Do Not Rush, 50
Self-Portrait as Poetry Defending Itself, 66
How to endure the final hours, 79
Self-Portrair of What Graces the Night 81
Blues 82.
Sakr. Thank you.
June 17, 2020
This was good. This was really good. It was so powerful, so touching. I am so grateful to have been sent a copy of this collection because it truly has changed my perspective.
Read
April 9, 2021"Do not rush
to make a judgement.
You can savage a body at speed.
A city can be ruined in an hour.
A life of decades dashed in a second.
It takes nine months to start a life."
~first lines of "Do Not Rush"
Strong collection by Arab Australian poet Omar Sakr. He questions and probes the notions of family and nationality, faith, sexuality, and conflict.
Some other faves:
"Ameen" -
"In the grip if a nightmare
it is to Arabic I return
for solace."
"As the Bombed City Swells (in a Viral Video)"
"Fools, the rootless man replies, look to the future --
do you not see the oasis has come to us,
do you not see me blooming here like the rarest of flowers? Truly the Arab Spring has arrived."
to make a judgement.
You can savage a body at speed.
A city can be ruined in an hour.
A life of decades dashed in a second.
It takes nine months to start a life."
~first lines of "Do Not Rush"
Strong collection by Arab Australian poet Omar Sakr. He questions and probes the notions of family and nationality, faith, sexuality, and conflict.
Some other faves:
"Ameen" -
"In the grip if a nightmare
it is to Arabic I return
for solace."
"As the Bombed City Swells (in a Viral Video)"
"Fools, the rootless man replies, look to the future --
do you not see the oasis has come to us,
do you not see me blooming here like the rarest of flowers? Truly the Arab Spring has arrived."
December 7, 2019
3.5 stars.
RTC
RTC
May 15, 2019
Yes, it is as terribly good as expected. The words that keep popping up are 'urgent' and 'intimate', and for very good reason. A fantastic collection.
January 11, 2020
Thanks to NetGalley, I was able to get an arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The Lost Arabs by Omar Sakr is a collection of poetry about refugees, war, Arabs in the modern world, sexuality, religion, politics and abuse.
If I could describe it into two words, it would be: beautifully truthful.
This book is truly and brutally honest to the point it tells it like it is.
It unapologetically illustrates the reality of Arabs, whether in the Middle East or those living in the Western world. It's so dark but hopeful at the same time. As an Arab, I easily found myself among the lines and metaphors.
The poetry, on the other hand, is gorgeously written! It flows like milk in my ears, and it's been a long time since I've seen poems crafted so well.
I highly recommend it! I can't wait to read more of Omar Sakr's future works.
The Lost Arabs by Omar Sakr is a collection of poetry about refugees, war, Arabs in the modern world, sexuality, religion, politics and abuse.
If I could describe it into two words, it would be: beautifully truthful.
This book is truly and brutally honest to the point it tells it like it is.
It unapologetically illustrates the reality of Arabs, whether in the Middle East or those living in the Western world. It's so dark but hopeful at the same time. As an Arab, I easily found myself among the lines and metaphors.
The poetry, on the other hand, is gorgeously written! It flows like milk in my ears, and it's been a long time since I've seen poems crafted so well.
I highly recommend it! I can't wait to read more of Omar Sakr's future works.
July 10, 2020
Certainly, a powerful and different voice prepared to speak about vitally complex issues: bisexuality, cultural identity, political conflict, and alienation.
A lot of verve and originality.
But also poems with too many tricks and so much fertility they are filled with overgrowth. They overflow like Ginsberg at his most indulgent. However, when they work ... they work!
A lot of verve and originality.
But also poems with too many tricks and so much fertility they are filled with overgrowth. They overflow like Ginsberg at his most indulgent. However, when they work ... they work!
February 29, 2020
I may not be alive for the sight of the future
memorial, in which case it is important to note
I am a writer and to write is to squander life.
It is the only reason I have a place here.
Aren't you all the same? I don't recognise
the photos here and I do. Some of the legs
blown off bodies, those with jeans still on,
could be mine. I use memory to make them
walk again. God, do not let me anywhere
near memory, I beg of you. I keep using it
as a weapon. It is the only thing I know
how to do and that should tell you everything.
This is an extraordinary collection, which contains some sublime pieces, but also works as a book exploring/piecing together a positive queer Arab diaspora identity, in the face of a lifetime of being told where you are not belonging.
I tore this page from somebody else's book.
It was written in Arabic so I found a man to lend
Me his tongue. Left the page splotched with his thickness
& the following words: this was never meant
For you. Your grandfather made that choice & you live
With the ashes of it black on your teeth.
And Sakr explores the impact of a fractured childhood on this already challenged sense of belonging:
My father was for the longest time
A plastic smile locked under the bed.
Before that, he was whatever came
Out of my mother's mouth. He was I'll tell you
When you're older. He was winding smoke,
A secret name. That fucking Turk.
But the book brims with the triumph of Sakr's sense of joy in himself, and his Arabness and sexuality:
i asked
my aunty about the supernatural hush i felt & she said
The animals still stand in holy awe, the know the Day
of Judgement will fall on a Friday. & this is why neither
of us made a sound, why his fingers bruised my lips to
crush the gasping as one of us disappeared into the other
But the book is not just about the individual. Threaded through is the furious poetry of those whose homelands are under constant bombing, and for whom any sense of identity is now linked to massacre and wholesale destruction. One of my favourite titles is simply "Waiting for the American Spring". This works more powerfully for being integrated into the story of own identity. In a series of poems titled "At the site of the future memorial", Sakr turns his pen to how we view Arabs, to how many bombs have dropped upon Arab countries, and to his own anger and grief in equal measure.
In short, this book is very, very good.
memorial, in which case it is important to note
I am a writer and to write is to squander life.
It is the only reason I have a place here.
Aren't you all the same? I don't recognise
the photos here and I do. Some of the legs
blown off bodies, those with jeans still on,
could be mine. I use memory to make them
walk again. God, do not let me anywhere
near memory, I beg of you. I keep using it
as a weapon. It is the only thing I know
how to do and that should tell you everything.
This is an extraordinary collection, which contains some sublime pieces, but also works as a book exploring/piecing together a positive queer Arab diaspora identity, in the face of a lifetime of being told where you are not belonging.
I tore this page from somebody else's book.
It was written in Arabic so I found a man to lend
Me his tongue. Left the page splotched with his thickness
& the following words: this was never meant
For you. Your grandfather made that choice & you live
With the ashes of it black on your teeth.
And Sakr explores the impact of a fractured childhood on this already challenged sense of belonging:
My father was for the longest time
A plastic smile locked under the bed.
Before that, he was whatever came
Out of my mother's mouth. He was I'll tell you
When you're older. He was winding smoke,
A secret name. That fucking Turk.
But the book brims with the triumph of Sakr's sense of joy in himself, and his Arabness and sexuality:
i asked
my aunty about the supernatural hush i felt & she said
The animals still stand in holy awe, the know the Day
of Judgement will fall on a Friday. & this is why neither
of us made a sound, why his fingers bruised my lips to
crush the gasping as one of us disappeared into the other
But the book is not just about the individual. Threaded through is the furious poetry of those whose homelands are under constant bombing, and for whom any sense of identity is now linked to massacre and wholesale destruction. One of my favourite titles is simply "Waiting for the American Spring". This works more powerfully for being integrated into the story of own identity. In a series of poems titled "At the site of the future memorial", Sakr turns his pen to how we view Arabs, to how many bombs have dropped upon Arab countries, and to his own anger and grief in equal measure.
In short, this book is very, very good.
July 27, 2021
Whatever I write here does not give justice to this collection of poetry. There is a love in his irony I cannot describe but only feel - as an Arab?
The Arabs have had a long love affair with describing who they are. A manufactured people, our name has been changing slowly year by year. Once we were Arabian. There was a country called Arabia, a language called Arabic, and in it lies the test. Being the tongue of Syria and Palestine, of Mesopotamia and of the great peninsula called Arabia on the map. Before the Moslem conquests we all spoke languages of the Arabic family. Incorrectly we are sometimes referred to as Semitic. However Arabic, Assyrian, Babylonian, Phoenician, Hebrew, Aramaic and Syriac were and are in all their new names related tongues. We Arabs have been lost for a long time.
But the lost Arabs is not about that - and perhaps it is. I found myself journeying with Omar, and I felt his anger and the love that drives that anger - and perhaps my own anger.
It's not an easy read. A volume of poetry never is. Especially not when it bares the poet naked to his serving of our humanity, of his own state of mind and last but not least, his lost tribe.
Thank you for enriching our world with part of you and forgive me for not being the best reviewer but how do you review such a incredible collection of poetry. You can't. You can only read it. Feel it or least try to feel it. 5 stars.
The Arabs have had a long love affair with describing who they are. A manufactured people, our name has been changing slowly year by year. Once we were Arabian. There was a country called Arabia, a language called Arabic, and in it lies the test. Being the tongue of Syria and Palestine, of Mesopotamia and of the great peninsula called Arabia on the map. Before the Moslem conquests we all spoke languages of the Arabic family. Incorrectly we are sometimes referred to as Semitic. However Arabic, Assyrian, Babylonian, Phoenician, Hebrew, Aramaic and Syriac were and are in all their new names related tongues. We Arabs have been lost for a long time.
But the lost Arabs is not about that - and perhaps it is. I found myself journeying with Omar, and I felt his anger and the love that drives that anger - and perhaps my own anger.
It's not an easy read. A volume of poetry never is. Especially not when it bares the poet naked to his serving of our humanity, of his own state of mind and last but not least, his lost tribe.
Thank you for enriching our world with part of you and forgive me for not being the best reviewer but how do you review such a incredible collection of poetry. You can't. You can only read it. Feel it or least try to feel it. 5 stars.
October 23, 2019
Thank you to Netgalley for giving me an arc of this collection!
Some favorites from this collection:
Self-Portrait as Poetry Defending Itself
The Exhibition of Autobiography
Extermination
At the Site of the Future Memorial
Every Day
A Beautiful Child
This was a very solid collection, although I think it would have been better had the poems been grouped thematically. They totally could have been and I just missed the connections. But it just felt like emotional whiplash every now and again. Some of my favorite poems from this collection had to do with the author's queerness and his relationships with his family members.
I enjoyed more poems than I did not, and would highly recommend to anyone that is interested in poetry.
Some favorites from this collection:
Self-Portrait as Poetry Defending Itself
The Exhibition of Autobiography
Extermination
At the Site of the Future Memorial
Every Day
A Beautiful Child
This was a very solid collection, although I think it would have been better had the poems been grouped thematically. They totally could have been and I just missed the connections. But it just felt like emotional whiplash every now and again. Some of my favorite poems from this collection had to do with the author's queerness and his relationships with his family members.
I enjoyed more poems than I did not, and would highly recommend to anyone that is interested in poetry.
July 8, 2019
Beautiful. Best tasted slowly, savouring each poem, each thought
November 22, 2020
Angry, mournful, sexy, beautiful - this is an excellent collection.
January 5, 2020
The publisher kindly offered me a reader copy via NetGalley. Yet, this is an honest review of the book expressing my unbiased opinion.
First of all, what an illustrious, vivid imagery and heartbreak this poetry book elicits. It evoked my anger, my tears, helplessness, and yet, it also made me feel less alone. I'm not Arab so I'm not the targeted audience, but the emotions of the poet resonated with me because I often share them, too. Torn between countries and languages, queer and not completely seen and understood.
The poems have this story-telling quality like they narrate a story. I loved that aspect. However, some of their wording didn't resonate with me as much as I'd like to rate it with 5 stars. But that doesn't negate how fantastic and visceral this poetry book is. I truly believe my lack of 100% connection to the book is due to this unexplained personal, subjective intangible aspect, and not due to the quality of the poems.
I also loved how the poet infused his queer identity, language, overall sense of identity, religion, culture, and history. It was done masterfully, and it's this personal sense that sets this poetry book apart from others. It is visceral. It is personal. It is authentic. It is real. And for me, that's where the best poetry emerges from. I'll definitely read more from Omar Sakr and the publisher.
4 stars – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Author: Omar Sakr
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
First of all, what an illustrious, vivid imagery and heartbreak this poetry book elicits. It evoked my anger, my tears, helplessness, and yet, it also made me feel less alone. I'm not Arab so I'm not the targeted audience, but the emotions of the poet resonated with me because I often share them, too. Torn between countries and languages, queer and not completely seen and understood.
The poems have this story-telling quality like they narrate a story. I loved that aspect. However, some of their wording didn't resonate with me as much as I'd like to rate it with 5 stars. But that doesn't negate how fantastic and visceral this poetry book is. I truly believe my lack of 100% connection to the book is due to this unexplained personal, subjective intangible aspect, and not due to the quality of the poems.
I also loved how the poet infused his queer identity, language, overall sense of identity, religion, culture, and history. It was done masterfully, and it's this personal sense that sets this poetry book apart from others. It is visceral. It is personal. It is authentic. It is real. And for me, that's where the best poetry emerges from. I'll definitely read more from Omar Sakr and the publisher.
4 stars – ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Author: Omar Sakr
Publisher: Andrews McMeel Publishing
November 17, 2020
tfw you finish a poetry book & end up lying in bed staring at the ceiling for ages after.....thanks for ripping my heart out i guess???
September 17, 2019
I haven’t finished an entire book of poems since I read A. A. Milne’s ‘Now we are Six’ and have been feeding my mind a junk food diet of crime novels for years now. So I was very pleasantly surprised to enjoy this collection. I even found it a bit of a page turner at times. I guess that might put off the aesthetes amongst you.
This is a collection that is at times raw and confronting, and very personal. It reflects the complexity of identity and politics (not identity politics as some reviews mention). It is placed locally and globally and shows the author’s keen sense of self and society, and his desire for equality and social justice.
I enjoyed the moments of recognition, moments of exquisite beauty, and moments that challenged me in this collection.
This is a collection that is at times raw and confronting, and very personal. It reflects the complexity of identity and politics (not identity politics as some reviews mention). It is placed locally and globally and shows the author’s keen sense of self and society, and his desire for equality and social justice.
I enjoyed the moments of recognition, moments of exquisite beauty, and moments that challenged me in this collection.
May 26, 2021
I struggled with this collection.
I enjoyed/admired just 23% of the poems.
When Sakr wrote about his family, ancestors...
he reached me emotionally.
Favorite poem was "Chances".
When Sakr spoke with "no holds barred"
(he does not exercise any form of self-censor)
...I felt only his rage, anger and frustration.
I felt the first 20 poems were written by a completely
different poet than the rest of the poems.
A collection is written over the course of years (2017-2018)
...so the world and mind of a poet is dynamic....
and that can change his creative vision.
Sakr's voice is unique
...but I don't know if everyone will enjoy his writing!
#MixedReactions
I enjoyed/admired just 23% of the poems.
When Sakr wrote about his family, ancestors...
he reached me emotionally.
Favorite poem was "Chances".
When Sakr spoke with "no holds barred"
(he does not exercise any form of self-censor)
...I felt only his rage, anger and frustration.
I felt the first 20 poems were written by a completely
different poet than the rest of the poems.
A collection is written over the course of years (2017-2018)
...so the world and mind of a poet is dynamic....
and that can change his creative vision.
Sakr's voice is unique
...but I don't know if everyone will enjoy his writing!
#MixedReactions
October 17, 2022
The Lost Arabs is a beautiful, compelling, and at times heartbreaking exploration of faith, belonging, and life beyond the mainstream. Sakr has a gift for crafting staggeringly beautiful pieces that resonate well after the book is returned to the shelf, and The Lost Arabs is the sort of work to make you think, make you hope, and make you want to read infinitely more from this incredibly talented poet.
January 29, 2023
Omar Sakr is one of the country’s leading poets. Lost arabs is queer, daddy issues, deeply hot. The poems deal with the intersections of faith, race, sexuality and masculinity. This bi muslim arab dude’s poetry is luscious and raw. His voice is incredibly important. This book is one of my new all-time favourites. Essential reading
May 14, 2019
Seriously incredible and important collection of poetry. It blends so many references together flawlessly. It's like Sakr held every word in their hand and contemplated it. Like smoother than the blending in a professional makeup video. Get yourself a copy asap I could not rate this more highly.
April 1, 2020
2.5 stars.
"I am obliged to love what I cannot erase. My memories
ache for this to be true. They do not want to die.
Even my darkest knowing seeks the light
as a new kind of mother. I ask the light how
to behave. It should know, it has been around at least
the block touching gentle what can be touched"
I didn’t really connect with this one much especially because I didn’t understand more than half of the metaphors and meanings that they completely went over my head. I felt exhausted while reading it and started skimming through since the poems are pretty long. The poems in this book are about the author’s feelings and views and there's some arabic words in some poems. I couldn’t relate to the authors struggles because we have differing views about how to be a Muslim. Each to their own, though I agree with him when he says, "Stop bombing the Middle East."
"In this poem, my mother has no purpose
beyond existing, beyond beauty, beyond
dancing beneath the stars. Let me give
way before meaning, let me incoherent,
let me give her this one shining moment."
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy for an honest review.
"I am obliged to love what I cannot erase. My memories
ache for this to be true. They do not want to die.
Even my darkest knowing seeks the light
as a new kind of mother. I ask the light how
to behave. It should know, it has been around at least
the block touching gentle what can be touched"
I didn’t really connect with this one much especially because I didn’t understand more than half of the metaphors and meanings that they completely went over my head. I felt exhausted while reading it and started skimming through since the poems are pretty long. The poems in this book are about the author’s feelings and views and there's some arabic words in some poems. I couldn’t relate to the authors struggles because we have differing views about how to be a Muslim. Each to their own, though I agree with him when he says, "Stop bombing the Middle East."
"In this poem, my mother has no purpose
beyond existing, beyond beauty, beyond
dancing beneath the stars. Let me give
way before meaning, let me incoherent,
let me give her this one shining moment."
Thank you Netgalley for providing me with a digital copy for an honest review.
Read
August 26, 2020There's too many poems I loved. But especially:
This is not meant for you
How to destroy the body slowly ('the obvious cartilage', ooof)
Instead, memory
Choose your own erasure
Do not rush
The site of the future memorial (especially the third entry)
No Goldblum, no matter
How to endure the final hours
This is not meant for you
How to destroy the body slowly ('the obvious cartilage', ooof)
Instead, memory
Choose your own erasure
Do not rush
The site of the future memorial (especially the third entry)
No Goldblum, no matter
How to endure the final hours
May 14, 2020
A beautiful anthology that traverses the many facets of poet Omar Sakr's identity with ease and grace that screams of joy and hard work. There are many beautiful one-liners that I'm sure I'll cheapen into Instagram captions in due time, but it's such a substantial body of work I would recommend to anyone into poetry.
September 30, 2020
Powerful. Striking.
May 8, 2021
"It is human
So human
To leave."
So human
To leave."
April 26, 2022
Pretty underwhelming, with a few exceptions. Too bad, I had high hopes for this one.
February 10, 2021
*3.5
Especially liked the How to destroy the body slowly-poems and the Nature Poem.
Especially liked the How to destroy the body slowly-poems and the Nature Poem.
January 30, 2020
Beautiful, haunting, honest. Omar Sakr encapsulates trauma, love and identity with such profound lyricism.
May 29, 2020
This is such a powerful book!
December 4, 2022
A well put together collection of poems with a clear sense of identity and purpose. The prose is crisp relying on carefully chosen words and double meanings rather than flowery lyricism. Each poem oozes honest vulnerability and emotion. Like all poetry collections some of the poems hit me harder than others. With ‘Here we are’, ‘A moratorium on Cartography’ and ‘How to destroy the body slowly(4)’ burrowing themselves into me, calling me back to reread over and over again.
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