{"product_id":"bitter-english-ahmad-almallah-9780226642642","title":"Bitter English","description":"Imagine you are a Palestinian who came to America as a young man, eventually finding yourself caught between the country you live in with your wife and daughter, and the home--and parents--you left behind. Imagine living every day in your nonnative language and becoming estranged from your native tongue, which you use less and less as you become more ensconced in the United States. This is the story told by Ahmad Almallah in \u003ci\u003eBitter English\u003c\/i\u003e, an autobiography-in-verse that explores the central role language plays in how we construct our identities and how our cultures construct them for us. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Through finely crafted poems that utilize a plainspoken roughness to keep the reader slightly disoriented, Almallah replicates his own verbal and cultural experience of existing between languages and societies. There is a sense of displacement to these poems as Almallah recounts the amusing, sad, and perilous moments of day-to-day living in exile. At the heart of \u003ci\u003eBitter English\u003c\/i\u003e is a sense of loss, both of home and of his mother, whose struggle with Alzheimer's becomes a reflection of his own reality in exile. Filled with wit, humor, and sharp observations of the world, \u003ci\u003eBitter English \u003c\/i\u003ebrings a fresh poetic voice to the American immigrant experience.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Ahmad Almallah\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 022664264X\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780226642642\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e University of Chicago Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/03\/2019\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 96\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.35lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.80h x 5.80w x 0.30d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eReview Citation(s): \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLibrary Journal\u003c\/i\u003e 08\/23\/2019 pg. 1\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShelf Awareness\u003c\/i\u003e 09\/13\/2019","brand":"Ahmad Almallah","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":43992897618175,"sku":"9780226642642","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_bff41e84-92ba-45aa-a9a9-784ab0e8ce46.jpg?v=1683321415","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/bitter-english-ahmad-almallah-9780226642642","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}