War/Torn

Poetry. Middle Eastern Studies. LGBTQIA Studies. Named a Barbara Gittings Literature Award Honor Book for the 2020 Stonewall Book Awards. Lambda Literary Award-winner Hasan Namir's debut collection of poetry, WAR/TORN, is a brazen and lyrical interrogation of religion and masculinity--the performance and sense of belonging they delineate and draw together. Namir summons prayer, violence, and the sensuality of love, revisiting tenets of Islam and dictates of war to break the barriers between the profane and the sacred.

"WAR/TORN mourns, loves and burns all the derogatory impulses of our continuous present. This book is of and against our time. WAR/TORN is a breathless elegy in the most defiantly tender poetics you can imagine."--Jordan Scott

"WAR/TORN reminds us of how dexterous and wholly embracing poetry can be. In the hands of Hasan Namir, poetry spans from origin stories to the afterlife; it holds blessings and erotic provocations, fear and forgiveness, and tangled tangled love."--Amber Dawn

"Written in emotional and visceral language Hasan Namir's poems are bold, exploring the harsh expectations of masculinity, the battles we wage in our worlds large and small, and the holiness in desire. In these poems there are no dichotomies but the full breadth of human experience, from the roughest to the tenderest moments."--Dina Del Bucchia

"WAR/TORN collides and bridges together worlds of chaos and love and sex and violence and lust and hope. Beautiful, heartbreaking and an unflinching look at the terrifying reality of homophobia, war and shame. A collection of poems that asks how do we reconcile all the parts of our identities and histories, with the sincerity and caring touch only Hasan can bring to it."--Daniel Zomparelli

"Precise and relentless in its interrogation of doctrine, intimacy, and masculinities, Hasan Namir's poetry is informed by violence and infused with tenderness. WAR/TORN slashes perception to ribbons and cradles the remains."--Carleigh Baker

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Book*hug
Published: 04/30/2019
ISBN: 9781771664936
Pages: 116
Weight: 0.30lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.90w x 0.40d