I'm happy to report that I passed my viva this morning! Thank you to my panel: prof @amaravalde, Dr @JamesLHadley & Prof @PiotrBlum for their brilliant engagement with my work! A giant thank you to my supervisors: Dr Kathleen, @Neil_Sadler, and @AW_Khalifa for all their support

Today’s poem is selected by Erica Miriam Fabri as part of the 20th anniversary of Read A Little Poetry. “Shoulders” appeared in Red Suitcase by Naomi Shihab Nye, published by BOA Editions, Ltd., 1994. Shared here with deep gratitude.

And there are stars, but none of you, to spare. —June Jordan, from "Sunflower Sonnet Number Two"

برأيي الأستاذ ميسرة هنا يكشف عن واحدة من أهم قضايا الترجمة الأدبية. المسألة أعمق من الكفاءة اللغوية والتمكن من الترجمة عن الأصل؛ هي مسألة إلمام تام بحيثيات الثقافة، وأصول الشعر وكذلك -ولعلّها الفارقة- الأيادي المستعمرة المُتطاوِلة على الهويات الوطنية لمآرب أقل ما يُقال عنها مريبة

Over the last few months, I've been writing more consistently on Substack. I try to find connections in things that satiate my life in meaning. Mo Cheol Thù is about letters, Spotify playlists, and a few whimsical linguistic choices in Tunisian Arabic: https://t.co/VrGHYfRSEi

I had the joy of knowing @Saharothmani13 during her time in Belfast. Reading her new poem, I see echoes of our study dates and how our clothes always seemed to match, of damp days and changing seasons. Now 5000 miles away, I know Sahar won’t forget those of us still in Belfast.

I wrote Belfast between August 2024- January 2025 not excepting it to be published. I wrote it to remember, to contain a lifetime in a few lines. Belfast is for those who remember. Thank you for lending it a megaphone, Nandi, and Poetry Ireland.

Alongside the wonderful content, and the massive posters each of the 6 daily digests contains, we conducted interviews with translators, publishers and industry professionals! My favourite has to be the chat I had with @cdnmai, a legendary translator from Japanese into Arabic.

الغلّة: آراء ورؤى في مستقبل صناعة النشر The collection: Points of View on the Future of Publishing كل الامتنان والمحبة للفريق الذي جعل من هذا العمل ماتعا، سهلا ومفيدا. @arablit @mbrlae @dubailibrarycon

https://t.co/505OgkWHPG

I was not there, but many of those who inspired these two works were. You're all the novelty I never want to shed, Nandi, @PinarCelikQUB @ginagogoillus @ellenfcorbett and, you.. wherever you are in the world. Belfast is so many names, a place, and a chapter - Blue, legendary.

Day 1 of the Dubai International Publishing Summit! May we interest you in a divination? Or perhaps a glimpse into publishing a translation? Crosswords? @arablit and yours truly put our minds together to bring you each one of these fun daily digests in both English and Arabic.

You know when you read a poem that makes you want to just .. sit with it? Relish in its company a little longer? Well, every single one of these poems made me feel exactly that way. I love this multilingual lineup, and I'm so happy that the Other Side of Hope is back in print.

We finally have our hands on Trumpet Issue 14, edited by Nandi Jola 🫁 And now you can get your hands on it too! 🔗Get your copy at https://t.co/GpdO8r2fX4

Word around the block's that this gallery's being renovated. This, and the rest going other places. Henceforth, I file this under justified nostalgia.

I read a lot of Nizar Qabbani, Gibran & Edgar Allan Poe growing up, but it wasn't until I borrowed W H Auden's collection and read this that I realised writing poetry was the/my key. My professor gifted me the collection with her notes in pencil, starting a revolution in me.

الحرية إذا لم تعطِ الكرم لا يُعوّل عليها.

For every preorder (or library request) a donation will be made to mutual aid initiatives in Sudan & Gaza; more info here: ABSOLUTELY REQUEST YOUR LIBRAR(Y/IES) ORDER NOW. https://t.co/9PpqSARh65

Two for joy! Being mentored by Nandi pushed me to begin writing my own migration literature, and so there was Shedding. B for You, Belfast might be my most precious poem. Nandi called it "a love letter" to an entire era, and I agree. I can't wait to read the entire issue!

Thank you to all who took the time out of their busy schedules to join us. No words can describe hearing the same poem in 4 languages back to back. I said it once, and I'll say it forever: Literary translation is a labour of immense love; though it takes time, it's never in vain.

This translation of the Rubaiyat is the most popular but the most peculiar. I will always wonder why Fitzgerald translated "سحرى" as Dawn's Left Hand (among many choices). I found this copy tucked away in a tiny bookshop for rare books in AlSerkal - a serendipitous encounter!