<b>Winner, 2013 Arab-American Book Award for Poetry</b>
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âDon't miss the dazzling Hala Alyan. Wow. When she says âthe poetry like a spear,â she isn't kidding.â âNaomi Shihab Nye, poet, <i>Transfer</i>
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âHala Alyanâs poems startle us with their beautiful, enigmatic images and capture us with their passionate engagement with the world. A powerful debut.â <b>âChitra Divakaruni, author, <i>Mistress of Spices</i></b>
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âFor 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.â <b>âFred Marchant, poet, <i>Tipping Point</i></b>
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âAtrium is a formidable volume: irreverent, clever, hyper-erudite and laugh-out-loud funny, with moments of arresting darkness and disturbing intensity to boot. Whether itâs Greek mythology, nightclub culture, obscene sex acts or Beirut, there is scarcely one subject in these 88 pages to which Alyan doesnât bring fierce originality, feeling and flair.â <b><i>âNew Lebanon Review</i></b>