| Title | : | Atrium: Poems |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 098358138X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780983581383 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 104 |
| Publication | : | First published May 23, 2012 |
| Awards | : | Arab American Book Award Poetry (2013) |
The book received the 2013 Arab American Book of the Year Award for Poetry, an astounding achievement for a first collection. In addition, Alyan was recently tapped as a finalist in the Nazim Himet Poetry Competition.
Already in her young career, Alyan has etched her mark on other award-winning poets who are universal in their praise: “Don't miss the dazzling Hala Alyan. Wow. When she says ‘the poetry like a spear,’ she isn't kidding.” —Naomi Shihab Nye; “Hala Alyan’s poems startle us with their beautiful, enigmatic images and capture us with their passionate engagement with the world. A powerful debut.” —Chitra Divakaruni; “For all the stunning angularity in this vision, we do not doubt that what we are seeing and sensing here is a surprising, sharp-edged sense of the real, of a world that had been there all along, just waiting for this poet and these poems to reveal. Start to finish, these poems convey a singular vision and represent an important new voice in the international poetry arena.” —Fred Marchant
Hala Alyan's Atrium is truly a remarkable debut by a poet of stunning virtuosity and range.
Atrium: Poems Reviews
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There's something of a fast moving bushfire in these poems, or a snare drum attack. Quite a few of them are sparse and confrontational, obscurely formatted and held together by a supercategory of references like star signs or types of rocks. They can be quite uncompromising; but the craft delivers enough singular vision to keep the appetite strong.
The start of "Sahar & Her Sisters" is representative of her intensity and some of her cultural vocabulary and perspective. It will also forever change how I view starfish:
"Ink-haired quartet, born summers apart, they left / their mother gasping, mouth dry. Womb limp / as a starfish. Their father set fire to the midwife after the // fourth, rammed into his wife bark etched with holy verses / to free her of the cancer that is girl. This is what is meant by setting. / Sahar and her sisters move like snakes through the seasons, cinder- // eyed, dizzy-hearted."
You'll need to get used to transitioning from palpable narrative like the above to some more surreal contributions:
"1. Ink has an enemy in snow.
2. Mud makes walking harder.
3. Grief turns July into a mango, gutted out and rotten."
The gender politics are well handled throughout: tough, wounded, witty, and reasonably body positive. There's almost a detachment in Hala's cleverness and references--armor or artifice or something. From what I can tell, her later volumes soften somewhat, bristle somewhat less--retaining all the necessary power. But the energy of this volume, its jaggedness, is a pleasure.
The collection's title may come from the memorable stanzas that end another classically titled poem, "Desiderium"
"Counting coins
in an atrium,
I am lovely.
Caught unaware,
I am a thing
to be touched."
And, one of my favorite single line descriptions of a relationship: "She melon-slices. You platter." -
“Menses:
Rorschach on unsuspecting airplane seat. Pennyluck.”
After some thought, upgrading to five stars.
Admittedly, Part 1 was a slow read for me. I’m not sure if it was the writing or the fact I rarely read hard-cover books, but tend to listen to audio books while multi-tasking. Reading hard-cover means, for me, I’m reading while volunteering… likely in the semi-dark (just a reading light) and numerous distractions.
But I find myself thinking repeatedly of phrases, and have already picked up the book again to re-read a passage. -
Some of these poems were gorgeous, and made me stop and reread them immediately. But others remained inaccessible to me--the images, ideas, and parts didn't always work together to offer me more as a reader.
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A gorgeous, sumptuous voice that will transport you to the heart's deepest chambers. This is poetry sensual, devotional and awake to the mysteries of the world.
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WOW! Read It, Read It Read It!
