{"product_id":"a-journey-of-estrangement-and-sherif-meleka-9798284967270","title":"A Journey of Estrangement and Longing: A Selection of Modern Egyptian Poems","description":"These poems first bloomed between May of 2004 and October 2010, in four volumes of Egyptian colloquial verse, brought into the light by Dar Al-Hadara.\u003cbr\u003eBut- alas- since 2013, that press has closed its doors, \u003cbr\u003eand those poems vanished like dust in the wind.\u003cbr\u003eSo much so that I can no longer find a single copy of some, to place among my books, or to gift to a critic\u003cbr\u003ewho still believes in words.\u003cbr\u003eThat is why I rejoice in this new beginning- rekindling the broken bridge between me and the vanished verses chosen here from my scattered, sunken books- books lost from shelves, from newsstands, from pavement and street stall alike.\u003cbr\u003eAnd let me remind you, my kind reader: I began my journey with the spoken rhythm of the people- with poetry in the tongue of Cairo's cafés and corners.\u003cbr\u003eThree of these four volumes saw the world before my first story collection (\u003ci\u003eImmigrants\u003c\/i\u003e, 2005) or my first novel (\u003ci\u003ePlastic Flowers\u003c\/i\u003e, 2006) took breath in print.\u003cbr\u003eThat is why this vernacular verse- rooted in the soil of my memory, in the salt of my longing- holds a place\u003cbr\u003etender and unshakable in my heart.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e-Sherif Meleka\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Sherif Meleka\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798284967270\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 05\/23\/2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 124\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.39lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.29d","brand":"Sherif Meleka","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48852471447807,"sku":"9798284967270","price":9.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/a-journey-of-estrangement-and-sherif-meleka-9798284967270","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}