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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
'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.' (Publication summary)
Notes
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To Judy, for your guiding light;
to the friends I made family.
I couldn't have done it without you.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
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What I’m Reading
2020
single work
column
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2020; -
Closer to Home : Omar Sakr’s These Wild Houses and the New Suburbanism
2018
single work
essay
— Appears in: Journal of Poetics Research , March no. 8 2018;'In critical writing by Peter Minter, Bonny Cassidy and Stuart Cooke, the question of decolonisation in ‘Australia’ is figured to be a question of land. They tend to mean ‘land’ here in the way that it approximates nature, which is to say land resembles undeveloped frontier. There is, of course, an Aboriginal presence to these places, but land is, for the most part, a location that is not urban or built up.' (Introduction)
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[Review Essay] These Wild Houses
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: StylusLit , September no. 2 2017;'Omar Sakr’s compelling debut poetry collection, These Wild Houses, explores both writerly and readerly themes through the extended metaphor of the house as human body. Some houses stand for the constant reader, ponderous and seemingly solid; others, as Judith Beverage suggests in her perceptive introduction, are “metaphors for states of being” (xiii) experienced by writer and reader both. Sakr’s poetic states of being are complex and nuanced almost to the point of paradox. This riddling complexity is occasionally ruptured by a bluntly-delivered and vivid observation, so vital and so powerful, creating a visceral reading experience.' (Introduction)
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Still a Long Way from Home
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 76 no. 3 2017; (p. 232-238) -
March in Poetry
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: Overland [Online] , March 2017;
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March in Poetry
2017
single work
column
— Appears in: Overland [Online] , March 2017; -
Still a Long Way from Home
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: Southerly , vol. 76 no. 3 2017; (p. 232-238) -
[Review Essay] These Wild Houses
2017
single work
essay
— Appears in: StylusLit , September no. 2 2017;'Omar Sakr’s compelling debut poetry collection, These Wild Houses, explores both writerly and readerly themes through the extended metaphor of the house as human body. Some houses stand for the constant reader, ponderous and seemingly solid; others, as Judith Beverage suggests in her perceptive introduction, are “metaphors for states of being” (xiii) experienced by writer and reader both. Sakr’s poetic states of being are complex and nuanced almost to the point of paradox. This riddling complexity is occasionally ruptured by a bluntly-delivered and vivid observation, so vital and so powerful, creating a visceral reading experience.' (Introduction)
-
Closer to Home : Omar Sakr’s These Wild Houses and the New Suburbanism
2018
single work
essay
— Appears in: Journal of Poetics Research , March no. 8 2018;'In critical writing by Peter Minter, Bonny Cassidy and Stuart Cooke, the question of decolonisation in ‘Australia’ is figured to be a question of land. They tend to mean ‘land’ here in the way that it approximates nature, which is to say land resembles undeveloped frontier. There is, of course, an Aboriginal presence to these places, but land is, for the most part, a location that is not urban or built up.' (Introduction)
-
What I’m Reading
2020
single work
column
— Appears in: Meanjin Online 2020;
Awards
- 2018 shortlisted New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards — Kenneth Slessor Prize for Poetry
- 2017 commended Anne Elder Award
- 2017 shortlisted Queensland Literary Awards — Judith Wright Calanthe Award