The Tents of the Tribe

by Ibrahim Al-Awaji, Ibrahim Ibn Muhammad Awaji

The Tents of the Tribe is a bilingual (Arabic/English) collection of poems by a leading contemporary Saudi Arabian poet, Ibrahim al-Awaji. In his work, the themes of love, friendship, yearning, exile, and nostalgia for the past mingle with poetic images from the desert. The parallel Arabic and English versions allow the reader with some knowledge of Arabic to follow the original text.

175 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[Rosamund · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intriguing collection with a distinctive voice. Not sure if the weaker spots are intrinsic or from the translation, but they are outweighed by the atmosphere of the desert and feelings of love and melancholy.

[Adam Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is some really nice poetry in this volume, even if the poem "Palermo" read almost like a call to jihad to reclaim Sicily for the Arab world. Leaving that one aside, the rest of the poems deal mainly with desperate love and its many afflictions and with the malaise of modern society in general.

[fari · Rating 4 out of 5]

"if the lights are stealing a thousand images from your eyes, if the flowers are being fed from the sweetness of your scent, all this ... my beloved can only be because love finds its home and a million flowing rivers in your eyes."

[Bella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of bilingual poetry, if only I could understand Arabic so that I can fully immerse myself in the Arabic poetry.