The Earth in the Attic (Yale Series of Younger Poets Book 102)

Fady Joudah’s __The Earth in the Attic__ is the 2007 winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets competition. In his poems Joudah explores big themes—identity, war, religion, what we hold in common—__while never losing sight of the quotidian, the specific__. Contest judge Louise Glück describes the poet in her Foreword as “that strange animal, the lyric poet in whom circumstance and profession . . . have compelled obsession with large social contexts and grave national dilemmas.” She finds in his poetry an incantatory quality and concludes, “These are small poems, many of them, but the grandeur of conception is inescapable. __The Earth in the Attic__ is varied, coherent, fierce, tender; impossible to put down, impossible to forget.”

Announcing the 2007 recipient of the prestigious Yale Younger Poets prize

Fady Joudah's The Earth in the Attic is the 2007 winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets competition. In his poems Joudah explores big themes - identity, war, religion, what we hold in common - while never losing sight of the quotidian, the specific. Contest judge Louise Glück describes the poet in her Foreword as "that strange animal, the lyric poet in whom circumstance and profession... have compelled obsession with large social contexts and grave national dilemmas." She finds in his poetry an incantatory quality and concludes, "These are small poems, many of them, but the grandeur of conception is inescapable. The Earth in the Attic is varied, coherent, fierce, tender; impossible to put down, impossible to forget."

Fady Joudah is a Palestinian-American medical doctor and a field member of Doctors Without Borders since 2001. He lives in Houston, TX. He is also the translator of Mahmoud Darwish’s recent poetry The Butterfly's Burden.

Fady Joudah’s The Earth in the Attic is the 2007 winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets competition. In his poems Joudah explores big themes—identity, war, religion, what we hold in common— while never losing sight of the quotidian, the specific . Contest judge Louise Glück describes the poet in her Foreword as “that strange animal, the lyric poet in whom circumstance and profession . . . have compelled obsession with large social contexts and grave national dilemmas.” She finds in his poetry an incantatory quality and concludes, “These are small poems, many of them, but the grandeur of conception is inescapable. The Earth in the Attic is varied, coherent, fierce, tender; impossible to put down, impossible to forget.” Fady Joudah's The Earth in the Attic is this year's winner of the Yale Series of Younger Poets competition. In his poems Joudah explores big themes—identity, war, religion, what we hold in common—while never losing sight of the quotidian, the specific. Contest judge Louise Glück describes the poet in her Foreword as "that strange animal, the lyric poet in whom circumstance and profession...have compelled obsession with large social contexts and grave national dilemmas." She finds in his poetry an incantatory quality and concludes, "These are small poems, many of them, but the grandeur of conception is inescapable. The Earth in the Attic is varied, coherent, fierce, tender; impossible to put down, impossible to forget." CONTENTS 7 FOREWORD 9 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 17 I 21 Atlas 21 Pulse 23 Proposal 38 II 43 Immigrant Song 43 Mother Hair 44 The Tea and Sage Poem 46 The Way Back 48 Sleeping Trees 50 Resistance 52 An Idea of Return 53 Love Poem 55 Travel Document 57 III 61 Landscape 61 Scarecrow 63 Anonymous Song 64 The Name of the Place 66 Surviving Caterpillars 67 Morning Ritual 68 Moon Grass Rain 70 Along Came a Spider 75 An American Spandrel 81 The Onion Poem 83 Ascension 84 Night Travel 85 Condolence 86 Image 87 Bird Banner 88 American Gas Station 89 At a Café 91 Home 92 Additional Notes on Tea 93 NOTES 95