The Butterfly's Burden by Mahmoud Darwish (translated by Fady Joudah)

The Butterfly's Burden by Mahmoud Darwish (translated by Fady Joudah) is a beautiful book of poetry that covers a wide variety of topics. I loved having the original Arabic poems and the English translations side-by-side. I was so amazed by the different lengths of some of the lines that I asked my husband to spot check a few of the translations. He said they were pretty accurate. Darwish has a way of writing about everyday occurrences in ways that make them feel magical and the magical in ways that make them feel accessible. The Butterfly's Burden expounds on the impact of humans on other humans as well as the world we inhabit with its honest reflections on how human beings move through the world for better or worse.



Currently Reading:


Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

The Bad Friend by Caroline Kepne

Harlem by Eric Jerome Dickey

When We Were Friends by Jane Green

Foster by Claire Keegan

Popular Resistance in Palestine: A History of Hope and Empowerment by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh

Verseweavers: The Oregon Poetry Association Anthology of Prize-winning Poems Number 28/2023

Forest of Noise: Poems by Mosab Abu Toha


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