Lyrical and powerful poems that serve as a powerful reminder of the human cost of war.
“Those who believe in the currency of patience / Were burned out in the alleyway.”
The Screams of War is a visceral collection of poems that confront the realities of contemporary Syria. Akram Alkatreb’s verses capture the sense of the quotidian during war. His words, mere “murmurs engraved on stones,” long for and despair over an irrevocable past. At the heart of Alkatreb’s work lies a preoccupation with trauma and the profound burden of alienation that accompanies exile. Nascent memories are shrouded by the “scars of sleep,” and words find themselves nostalgic for destruction. The ubiquity of violence that Alkatreb channels into his poetry does not tolerate enclaves of innocence. The Screams of War is an unforgettable testament to the resilience of the human spirit and a stark reminder of the harsh realities faced by those trapped in conflict.
“Those who believe in the currency of patience / Were burned out in the alleyway.”
The Screams of War is a visceral collection of poems that confront the realities of contemporary Syria. Akram Alkatreb’s verses capture the sense of the quotidian during war. His words, mere “murmurs engraved on stones,” long for and despair over an irrevocable past. At the heart of Alkatreb’s work lies a preoccupation with trauma and the profound burden of alienation that accompanies exile. Nascent memories are shrouded by the “scars of sleep,” and words find themselves nostalgic for destruction. The ubiquity of violence that Alkatreb channels into his poetry does not tolerate enclaves of innocence. The Screams of War is an unforgettable testament to the resilience of the human spirit and a stark reminder of the harsh realities faced by those trapped in conflict.
Table of Contents
Nailed to Sleep Like an Only Child
To Amad
The Idea of Gold and the Wind Release
Like Any Broken Vehicle Barely Seen
Blessed Be Whomever Approves Your Name
Photographs
Like a Slip of the Tongue
A Face Penetrated with a Deadly Gaze
Like One Hundred Strangers Dying
Rising from His Picture
Those Who Believe They’re Dead
My Father
Nailed to Sleep Like an Only Child
The Pistol’s Grip
The Statues of Midday
An Angel Made of Bronze
From Secret Country
Spartan’s Wedding
An Angel from the Middle Ages
The City of the Blind
A Bust Statue
A Solitary Tree
Under the Sun of Caucasus
All This Blood That I Cannot Describe
The Screams of War
Every Day That Passes
The City of the Sun’s God
The Trees of God
I Want to Unhurriedly Dream about You
Syria
Odyssey
Freedom
Do You Know How Much We Love You?
The Book of the Drowned
Poppy Flowers
From Legends
The History of Emotion
The Balcony and the Body
The Book of Travels
The Utopian Poet
Geography
Between Aleppo and Mosul
An Impressionistic Name
The Street Hymns
Antiquities and Museums
Just a Hand
Train Whistle
Sacred Lessons
Here and There
America’s Poems
The Coat Only
San Francisco’s Window
Asphalt
Hi Neighbor
Allen Ginsberg’s Profile
A Light Cloud outside the Note
Green Moon
The Last Empty Cup
My Mexican Friend
Names of Cities
I am Charles the Fifth
In Case of Loneliness
Because He Is Your Sweet Enemy
To Find the Stranger in His Family
Infected with Leprosy
After Midnight
To Amad
The Idea of Gold and the Wind Release
Like Any Broken Vehicle Barely Seen
Blessed Be Whomever Approves Your Name
Photographs
Like a Slip of the Tongue
A Face Penetrated with a Deadly Gaze
Like One Hundred Strangers Dying
Rising from His Picture
Those Who Believe They’re Dead
My Father
Nailed to Sleep Like an Only Child
The Pistol’s Grip
The Statues of Midday
An Angel Made of Bronze
From Secret Country
Spartan’s Wedding
An Angel from the Middle Ages
The City of the Blind
A Bust Statue
A Solitary Tree
Under the Sun of Caucasus
All This Blood That I Cannot Describe
The Screams of War
Every Day That Passes
The City of the Sun’s God
The Trees of God
I Want to Unhurriedly Dream about You
Syria
Odyssey
Freedom
Do You Know How Much We Love You?
The Book of the Drowned
Poppy Flowers
From Legends
The History of Emotion
The Balcony and the Body
The Book of Travels
The Utopian Poet
Geography
Between Aleppo and Mosul
An Impressionistic Name
The Street Hymns
Antiquities and Museums
Just a Hand
Train Whistle
Sacred Lessons
Here and There
America’s Poems
The Coat Only
San Francisco’s Window
Asphalt
Hi Neighbor
Allen Ginsberg’s Profile
A Light Cloud outside the Note
Green Moon
The Last Empty Cup
My Mexican Friend
Names of Cities
I am Charles the Fifth
In Case of Loneliness
Because He Is Your Sweet Enemy
To Find the Stranger in His Family
Infected with Leprosy
After Midnight