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These Wild Houses

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( 95 ratings, 14 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
These Wild Houses is Omar Sakr's compelling debut poetry collection, offering a rich exploration of identity through vivid and urgent imagery. Sakr’s verses delve into his experience as a queer Muslim Arab Australian from Western Sydney, navigating themes of family, culture, and belonging with clarity and layered complexity. This collection announces a significant new voice in Australian poetry.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for readers interested in contemporary poetry, multicultural voices, and explorations of identity, especially those seeking fresh perspectives from queer and Arab Australian experiences.

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'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.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

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

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9780975249277

Publisher: Cordite Publishing Inc.

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 01 February 2017

Country: Australia

Imprint: Cordite Publishing Inc.

Contributors:

  • Introduction by Judith Beveridge

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Weight: 250g

Pages: 81

About the Author

Omar Sakr is a bisexual Arab Australian poet born and raised in Western Sydney. His poetry has been published in numerous journals, and his non-fiction has appeared in Archer, Going Down Swinging, The Guardian, Kill Your Darlings and The Saturday Paper, among others. He placed runner-up in the Judith Wright Poetry Prize (2015), and was shortlisted for the Story Wine Prize (2014) and the ACU Poetry Prize (2015).

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