These Wild Houses

Omar Sakr's poetry consists of rich and convincing detail charged with presence and particularity; his poetic voice is so firmly planted and immersed in the world around him that the urgency of his images and rhythms is completely convincing. His complex exploration of identity in clear yet layered language takes us to the core of his experience as a 'queer Muslim Arab Australian from Western Sydney, from a broke and broken family.' This is an impressive debut, a collection which announces a new and important voice in Australian poetry.

I won't keep you long. First, I acknowledge the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, on whose land the majority of this collection was written.

Now you are about to read the poetry of an Arab Australian, which is a rare thing when it shouldn't be. Now you are about to read the work of a queer Arab Australian, which is a rare thing when it shouldn't be. Now you are about to read the life of a queer Muslim Arab Australian from Western Sydney, from a broke and broken family - not rare, but it should be.

This is not a definitive statement on Islam. This is not a definitive statement on Arab identity, not Arab Australian identity, not bisexuality, not even Western Sydney. It is a statement - an exploration of me and what I've seen.

The only thing I ask of you is that you do not stop with me. Discover the other diverse writers and poets in this country; find us, find our books. We're here, and we're growing. - Omar Sakr