Portrait of the Poet As an Engineer

by Maged Zaher

Poetry. "When I read Maged Zaher's poetry I am always intrigued by the questions he asks and amazed by the unexpected layers and turns. Practically every line leads elsewhere. Saints, sex, pop culture, dreams, romance, information technology, religion, corporate life--Dante Alighieri and Barry White in the same poem--Karl Marx, Paris Hilton, Chairman Mao, Arthur Rimbaud and other suspects are all components of the volatile constellation that comprises these sharp and often funny poems. As a relatively recent arrival in the USA, Maged Zaher analyzes a contemporary America kind-of-with-a-`k,' applying a bright intelligence and tempering his sometimes irreverent enquiry with some subtle philosophizing"--Pam Brown.

Genres: Poetry

88 pages, Paperback

First published October 15, 2009

Reviews

[T Fool]

Intelligent writer who has interesting handle on phrases.
Problem the style has is with . . . coherence. I think the intent is to echo the disjointedness of a fast-moving, hard-to-grab-onto reality.
If so, that's a possible 'unity' holding the poems individually and as a whole.
If so, the value of the many bites of phrase-images gets sacrificed.

[Justin]

I'm sorry to report the first half (Poems 2000-2005) is stronger than the second (Poems 2005-2007).

[Jason Kirk]

Zaher's poems begin by focusing their attention on a juxtaposition of references not altogether common in verse: corporate droll, info-tech, hot sex, to name a few. Then there are the stars of history, or at least of their moment: Dante Alighieri, Barry White, Arthur Rimbaud, Paris Hilton, Chairman Mao.

This pop-culture pilfering throws a bone to those who might not normally read poetry, and coupled with the surprising, even delightfully strange bedfellows that result in his other imagery, plus a frequently comical voice, his poems ultimately welcome a wide readership.

Start with Portrait of the Poet as an Engineer .

(Quoted from #SmallBooksMonth )

[Kevin]

Zaher, an Egyptian poet living and working in the high tech world of Seattle, is a perverted genius poet at heart. Who else would mix equally parts computer science jargon with physical yearning for hot action? Plus he drops sweet images like: The stunt man is grounded for the night/Sipping straight scotch in front/Of his lover's mirrors

[Hannah Notess]

Aesthetically not really my bag but I enjoyed a number of these greatly, especially the opening poem and the longer piece in the second half.