Abdourahman A. Waberi is a poet, novelist, and essayist. He was born in what is now known as the Republic of Djibouti and is a major voice in African postcolonial studies. Waberi is the author of the novel In the United States of Africa (Bison Books, 2009) and has received a multitude of awards and honors, including a PEN France prize and, most recently, a medal from the French Academy. He is an associate professor of French at George Washington University. Nancy Naomi Carlson is a poet, translator, and essayist. She is the recipient of two translation grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the winner of the 2022 Oxford-Weidenfeld Translation Prize. She is the author or translator of fifteen books, including her poetry collection Piano in the Dark and her translation of Samira Negrouche’s poetry collection Solio.

• AcknowledgmentsTranslator’s NoteDare to Turn into EarthOne Saturday in VirginiaOpen AirWonder TrainBas-relief-Three Images in OneA Touch of Salt on My ConfessionIn SicilySahel! Sa(y) Hel(lo)In PennsylvaniaInterludeA Short Ballad to Lull the HorizonHere I AmHere Comes SummerKneading Love!Every Being Is UniqueMy Silence Told MeIt Won’t Be LongSoliloquyHairless StumpsTaking RefugeAfrokhoÏ sapiens: A pictoem in five scenesGenesisFiat LuxTransvaalThirstTranceAfter All

"Lyrical and evocative, this newly published collection takes the reader on a journey throughout North America, Africa and Europe that encourages them to recognize the healing power of love in restoring the Earth."-Seattle Times “In this wonderful collection we encounter a poet who moves deftly from the political to the intimate with an impressive sense of play. There is a tone to the work, carried over into this remarkable translation, of the studied, sharp, witty, and yet poignant ways in which French language writers approach the world. From Derrida (yes, I think of him as a poet) to the engagement of Nganang, we see a lineage and skill and craft that make for the uniqueness of this tradition, and certainly of the lyric work in this collection. Abdourahman Waberi invites us into a deeply felt and artfully wrought collection. We are enriched for reading it.”-Chris Abani, author of Smoking the Bible and Sanctificum