Dusk: Anthology Contemporary Lebanese Women Poets

Overview

This poetry book groups over a hundred texts published in three languages: Arabic, English and French. An anthology of women poets from Lebanon edited over the course of four years by Nada Ghosn and Paulina Spiechowicz, which aims to give a voice to those underrepresented in literary studies and the art world alike.

This poetry book carves a path made of a plurality of voices: around sixty poets and over one hundred texts that tell, each in its own way, the many facets of a single country, like a kinetic atlas, a lyrical fresco carried by reading, traveling, translating, and contemporary art in the broadest sense.

With poems by: Violette Abou Jalad, Etel Adnan, Sana Al-Bana, Hoda Al-Naamani, Susanne Alaywan, Manar Ali Hassan, Thérèse Aouad Basbous, Romy Lynn Attieh, Ritta Baddoura, Rita Bassil, Valérie Cachard, Huguette Caland, Elmira Chackal, Andrée Chedid, Majida Dagher, Ranim Daher, Frida Debbané, Amanda Dufour, Mireille Eid, Leila Eid, Jana Eid, Nada El Hage, May Elian, Tamirace Fakhoury, Claire Gebeyli, Rim Ghandour, Laure Ghorayeb, Hala Ghosn, Joumana Haddad, Katia-Sofia Hakim, Darine Houmani, Inaya Jaber, Mariam Janjelo, Edvick Jureidini Shayboub, Hana Khatoun, Vénus Khoury Ghata, Michèle Gharios, Nadine Makarem, Noha Moussawi, May Murr, Linda Nassar, Amal Nawwar, Myra Prince, Violaine Prince, Rouba Saba, Nohad Salameh, Christiane Saleh, Roula Saliba, Mo Maria Sarkis, Nada Sattouf, Maha Sultan, Yvonne Sursock, Samia Toutounji, Nadia Tuéni, Hyam Yared, Sabah Zouein, Afaf Zurayk

Accompanied by artworks by: Etel Adnan, Laure Ghorayeb, Huguette Caland, Afaf Zurayk, Manar Ali Hassan, Jana Eid.

About the Artists

Laure Ghorayeb

Born in Der El Qamar in 1931, Laure Ghorayeb Lives and works in Beirut. She is a painter, cultural journalist and critic who has given an inimitable trace since 1962. She has participated in solo and collective exhibitions locally and internationally. Previously she has collaborated with her son Mazen Kerbaj on two shows in 2007 and 2010. Ghorayeb also took part in “Pinceaux pour Plumes” at the Sursock Museum, and Convergence - New Art from Lebanon”, at the Katzen Art Center of the American University in Washington DC. Ghorayeb’s work was acquired by the British Museum for their permanent collection.

Etel Adnan

Etel Adnan (1925-2021) is a Lebanese-American poet, essayist, and visual artist. In 2003, Adnan was named “arguably the most celebrated and accomplished Arab American author writing today” by the academic journal MELUS: Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States. Besides her literary output, Adnan produced visual works in a variety of media, such as oil paintings, films and tapestries, which have been exhibited at galleries across the world. Her writings often address and protest against the turmoil of the Vietnam war, the Lebanese Civil War, and the tragedy of the Palestinian people. Her poetry and visual works are also informed by her relation to landscape, which for her is mingled with memory and a sentiment of displacement, since she was born and raised in Lebanon, but has lived, studied, and worked in France and California throughout her life.

About the Authors

Nada Ghosn

Nada Ghosn is a Paris-based writer who has lived in the Emirates, Yemen, Syria, Lebanon and Morocco, where she has worked for the media and diverse cultural institutions. Since 2006, she has translated several essays, art books, novels, film scripts, plays, and collections of short stories and poetry from Arabic into French. She regularly covers culture for the press, and participates in art projects, conferences and performances. In 2018, she founded the platform www.wordworld.online for translation, writing and editing in Arabic, English and French.

Paulina Spiechowicz

Paulina Spiechowicz is an accomplished author and art historian born in Krakow, Poland. She pursued her studies across several major European cities, including Rome, Paris, and Berlin. Paulina published several poetry books, a novel, and wrote for theatre and movies.