Non-Essential Work

by Omar Sakr

In this exciting follow-up to his acclaimed collection The Lost Arabs, award-winning poet Omar Sakr delves deep into his loves and losses to create a riveting literary experience. Asking questions of timeliness and timelessness, ranging between the present and the past, Non-Essential Work is a restless and relentless volume that showcases a poet unquestionably in his prime.

Genres: Poetry, LGBT, Australia, Queer, Nonfiction

127 pages, Paperback

First published April 4, 2023

About the author

Omar 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).

Reviews

[Gerhard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fascinated by the combination of technical mastery and raw emotion. In an interview with Happy:

'I don’t normally engage with forms, but this collection is a departure in that sense—focused as it is so much on grief and the repetitive, relentless nature of trauma, I turned to the constraints of forms like Jericho Brown’s Duplex, and Marwa Helal’s The Arabic, as well as American sonnets, sapphic stanzas, hell I have even a sestina in there and I hate sestinas usually. I used mirror forms, iambic pentameter, and anagram poetics, in addition to the lyric free verse and prose poems you might expect from me.
All of it is reflective of my hopeless attempt to escape the trap of language, to turn it inside out, to circle obsessively what animates me most: love, of course, and loss.'

[anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

literally a love letter

[Ceyrone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Omar Sakr. Love his work and will read everything he writes. Omar Sakr's collection of poetry, "Non-Essential Work," is an absolute delight that deserves to be celebrated. In this profound and thought-provoking compilation, Sakr showcases his exceptional talent for capturing the intricacies of everyday life and transforming them into works of art that resonate deeply with readers.

"Non-Essential Work" takes us on a journey through a wide range of experiences and emotions, delving into themes of identity, love, loss, and the complexities of the human condition. Sakr's ability to infuse their verses with vivid imagery and raw honesty is nothing short of breathtaking. Each poem is carefully crafted, making it a testament to his exceptional skill as a poet. Highly recommend.

[nilab · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve spent most of my life hiding the hurt that comes with being the child of Afghan immigrants in Australia and no one can tear away the facade like this dude here. Good shit.

[Yasmine Asmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every poem I have read of Sakr's hurt in the most beautiful way. I am Palestinian and Arab and Muslim and also living in Australia. I feel dislocation every day and he captures that feeling in all his poems. They all ache with longing for a home, for a country and for a people that is all too recognisable.

[G Batts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish I listened to the audio version. Omar’s readings at Adelaide Writers Week blew me away.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

A first read through of this poetry collection.
There are some gems here that resonate with me, but not really my sort of thing.
Western Sydney Muslim urban fiction with some poems from a queer man's perspective.
There's much here too that speaks to migration and concern about what awful things are happening to relatives back in the middle-east.
A contemporary collection with a few references to lockdowns in the covid19 pandemic, the excellent title included.
One I'd like to come back to at another time, it credits another reading. An excellent Australian poet.

[Mohamed Irba · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another incredible collection of poetry from Omar. Obsessed with his works and this was no different. It took me through loss, joy and other worlds and back. His emotions pour into every word i felt his voice reverberate through each poem. I really enjoyed it.

[Sabrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you know violins can shake the earth? Such sweet vessels, tiny planetary throats. I was sent an orchestra. They made music a sorrow, a soaring that shivered the dirt. I followed the notes to a barbarism. The composer said he created the beautiful hour as a space to think about war, and I heard my mother's name, a dark cascade of her, I saw again the clamour behind her manner, her harrowed glamour; I am claiming all of it now not as a violence, but as an inevitability, always justifiable.

5. Sakr's use of metaphor & language is absolutely unreal.

[pranav · Rating 5 out of 5]

I rarely read poetry, and frankly I've rarely been reading at all lately (working on correcting this), but knowing some of Omar's poetry and activity on social media, I'm so glad my partner gifted me this book of his. These poems touch on a lot of personal heartache, but also on global grief in response to occupation and tyranny in the world - I think Omar articulates the sadness people are and have been feeling for a long time, me included. He mentions in this book that being moved is to not quite understand what has occurred, as if time had stood still (I'm paraphrasing) - there were many times I was moved while reading these works, sitting in stunned silence after reading about Palestine, or Lebanon, or having to stop, tears welling, after reading about Omar's Baba.

If you're like me looking for a masterful read to redevelop a reading habit, or wanting to support fellow local Sydney talent, or just love witnessing someone be really good at their job, I would highly recommend this. Despite its name, it very much feels like an essential work for our times :)

[Sel · Rating 3 out of 5]

"After my mother, who gave me the wounded earth
leaves my house, a stolen peach
In hand, and with only cherries to speak for her presence, I shudder all over, again
At how close she came to knowing me.
I bow beneath the mercy of our separation."

"I say everything becomes a marriage
In time, a marriage says what it must to survive. My love, what are we guarding? Who has the keys?"

"I walk out into the park, where, months prior, a man was stabbed near to death; I sit on the bench close to the stain his blood left and receive a text reminding me to care about Kashmir, and Gaza, and our Uyghur brothers and sisters, who I never stopped caring about, and for whom my care did nothing. Forgive me, I sometimes mistake grief for care."

[Ayah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best poetry collection I’ve read. I love his writing. And I want to meet him one day. I feel like even from reading this collection it’s shaped my writing so much. He’s so thoughtful with his phrases and form. There was one poem that was in English but it read left to right and I was so in awe of the form, because I knew it was meant to mimic Arabic but I’d never seen that done before. I also just really love that a lot of his work is stream of consciousness. Or it seems like it to me. Truly beautiful. I would love to hear him perform his poetry some day. And I want him to write another book so I can read it.

[ff𓂃 ☠︎︎ ၴႅၴ · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I need to map a way out of this unexpected complication and all i can think to say is ta’aburnee.” also: “What does it mean to settle in love? / I romanticise the darkness of prison.” the poetry was heavy and i’m feeling fragile lately.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book with decent visuals and language used.

[rexrae · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know poetry is good when it's carried out clearly and dutifully as a way of living and to continue living. Sakr's writing offers a kind of soothing salve to the wretchedness of life under systems molded by the interests of the exclusive few. The pieces I liked best are: Rooted, Relevant to the Day (p. 28), Where I Am Not, and The Poems I Couldn’t Write This Week.