Atrium - by Hala Alyan (Paperback)

About the Book

In a phenomenal collection of poems by a truly inspired and original emerging poetic voice, Alyan, a Palestinian-American, writes relentlessly, with a deep passion and intense intimacy, tracing lines of global issues into personal spaces.

Book Synopsis

In Atrium, award-winning Palestinian-American poet Hala Alyan traces lines of global issues in personal spaces, with fervently original imagery, and a fierce passion and intense intimacy that echoes long after initial reading.

The book received the 2013 Arab American Book of the Year Award for Poetry, an astounding achievement for a first collection. In addition, Alyan was recently tapped as a finalist in the Nazim Himet Poetry Competition.

Already in her young career, Alyan has etched her mark on other award-winning poets who are universal in their praise: "Don't miss the dazzling Hala Alyan. Wow. When she says 'the poetry like a spear, ' she isn't kidding." --Naomi Shihab Nye; "Hala Alyan's poems startle us with their beautiful, enigmatic images and capture us with their passionate engagement with the world. A powerful debut." --Chitra Divakaruni; "For all the stunning angularity in this vision, we do not doubt that what we are seeing and sensing here is a surprising, sharp-edged sense of the real, of a world that had been there all along, just waiting for this poet and these poems to reveal. Start to finish, these poems convey a singular vision and represent an important new voice in the international poetry arena." --Fred Marchant

Hala Alyan's Atrium is truly a remarkable debut by a poet of stunning virtuosity and range.

Review Quotes

Winner, 2013 Arab-American Book Award for Poetry

"Don't miss the dazzling Hala Alyan. Wow. When she says 'the poetry like a spear, ' she isn't kidding." -Naomi Shihab Nye, poet, Transfer

"Hala Alyan's poems startle us with their beautiful, enigmatic images and capture us with their passionate engagement with the world. A powerful debut." -Chitra Divakaruni, author, Mistress of Spices

"For all the stunning angularity in this vision, we do not doubt that what we are seeing and sensing here is a surprising, sharp-edged sense of the real, of a world that had been there all along, just waiting for this poet and these poems to reveal. Start to finish, these poems convey a singular vision and represent an important new voice in the international poetry arena." -Fred Marchant, poet, Tipping Point

"Atrium is a formidable volume: irreverent, clever, hyper-erudite and laugh-out-loud funny, with moments of arresting darkness and disturbing intensity to boot. Whether it's Greek mythology, nightclub culture, obscene sex acts or Beirut, there is scarcely one subject in these 88 pages to which Alyan doesn't bring fierce originality, feeling and flair." -New Lebanon Review