So That the Poem Remains: Arabic Poems by Lebanese-american Youssef Abdul Samad, Selected and Translated by Ghada Alatrash

SO THAT THE POEM REMAINS is published by Agio Publishing House in cooperation with the New Pen League.

"Youssef Abdul Samad's poetry is animated by extravagant lyricism that is both intense and disarming. His poetry delves deep into the human condition, the mundane, sublime, and political; all with precision and pleasing detail. Life's issues are couched in an elegant and eloquent style that is simultaneously profound and accessible. Ghada Alatrash's translation is informed and compassionate. It is a faithful, elegant, and poetic interpretation of Samad's soaring emotions and observations. The resonant poetic voice that she has transmitted into English is as melodious and clear as the Arabic original."
-- Dr. Mansour Ajami, poet and literary critic

"Then again, poetry will never be defeated this easily -- for as long as there is a man like you who gargles with its water day and night, poetry will forever remain the king of kings."
-- from world-renowned Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani's letter to the poet

About the Poet: Born in Ras al Maten, Lebanon, YOUSSEF ABDUL SAMAD immigrated to the USA in 1969. He says, "I am made of a blend of the two worlds; when I am in one place, I always find myself longing for the other." Abdul Samad is a businessman in New York City and has published five volumes of Arabic poetry.

About the Translator: Daughter of former Syrian Ambassador Jabr Al-Atrash, GHADA ALATRASH immigrated with her family from Syria to the United States in 1986. She holds a Master of Arts in English from University of Oklahoma, USA. She is an op/ed columnist for Gulf News, UAE, and was previously op/ed columnist for the Cranbrook Daily Townsman. She taught English at Abu Dhabi Women's College, UAE, and was an Adjunct Lecturer of Arabic at University of Oklahoma. She has served as a board member for the Multicultural Advisory Board of British Columbia, Canada. She is a member of the New Pen League, New York. She currently resides in BC, Canada.

... Like a rose in a poem,
you do not wither;
recited a thousand times,
it always remains new.
If Earth were to return to water,
to water we would also return,
and the poem remains.
-- Youssef Abdul Samad

And it is so that the poem remains, so that the young can better understand the old, and so that there is universal harmony and connectedness between East and West, I present my readers with this work of translation.
-- Ghada Alatrash