I think I will translateForough.I am urged to translateForoughas soon as possible.In myhours, I find it isveryprivate. It is veryprivateto be in another’ssyntax.Look! a translator holdsup forthe flash, a hooked andthrashingbass. Lament. Lament, an-othersays. I say let them haveit: thethink-tank wonks, the panty-sniffingcritics, the consultantfor theUS Navy. Noble,they callit. These saviors intoEnglish. She asked a friend to bring her a window and a lamp I ask a friend to bring me a window and a lamp We watch the thronging, lucky alley We wave to each other notWho would I do it for?You? Ihave forgotten evenmyselfas reader. I turn offour light.
Into English
Solmaz Sharif
Feature Date
- May 11, 2022
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“Into English” from Customs.
Copyright © 2022 by Solmaz Sharif.
Used with the permission of Graywolf Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota, www.graywolfpress.org
Solmaz Sharif is the author of Customs and Look, which was a finalist for the National Book Award and a New York Times Notable Book. She has received a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers’ award, a Lannan Literary Fellowship, and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. Her poetry has appeared in Granta, the New Republic, and Poetry. She teaches at Arizona State University. https://solmazsharif.com/
“Blistering in its clear-sightedness, this collection offers a fierce, beautiful closing that dares to imagine ‘a beckoning, a way.’ A bold and uncompromising book with virtuosic emotional range; highly recommended.”
—Library Journal, starred review
“Sharif demonstrates remarkable talent in her ability to so deftly portray the traumatizing balance required to live in the West with deep roots in Iran.”
—Michael Ruzicka, Booklist, starred review
“Sharif's commanding voice reverberates throughout this complex and confident collection.”
—Publishers Weekly, starred review
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