Mona Arshi

A resonant new collection from the Forward Prize-winning poet Mona Arshi, giving voice to the marginal women of Greek tragedy to present fresh perspectives on war and migration today. Mouth transports us to a world where violence hangs in the air, where beauty, pity, and cruelty intertwine. The sequence at its heart, Palace, takes the overlooked women from the edges...

A teacher asked me a question, and I opened my mouth as a sort of formality but closed it softly, knowing with perfect certainty that nothing would ever come out again. Ruby gives up talking at a young age. Her mother isn't always there to notice; she comes and goes and goes and comes, until, one day, she doesn't. Silence...