Feeling My Existence (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9789198606607)

This is a collection of 60 poems divided into three evocative chapters: Of Love, Of Beliefs, and Of Existence. These chapters will move readers deeply, as feelings play an infinite and central role throughout the entire work.

The poems offer profound insight into humanity's eternal call to nurture the feelings that define our existence. Whether you are a lover gripped by intense romantic or sexual attraction, a rejected youth, a foolish man, the poor or a beggar, a sinner, a refugee, a wealthy owner, or someone seeking God, Shawn Akrawi's Feeling My Existence provides powerful solace for your sorrows and sufferings.

Spanning 92 pages, this gallant collection by the Swedish-Assyrian poet features three chapters filled with 60 poems. As readers journey through the book, they discover how feelings born of happiness, hunger, pain, rejection, or sadness spark reflection. This reflection strengthens our beliefs, which in turn shape our character and illuminate our existence.

Drawing characters straight from real life, Akrawi echoes Geoffrey Chaucer's vivid portrayals in The Canterbury Tales. As the poet writes in the introduction: "We can sense and gather information from our surroundings but we only learn things through our feelings and that is how we create our existence in our minds."

Influenced by the Lebanese-American poets and philosophers Gibran Khalil Gibran and Elia Abu Madi, Akrawi displays remarkable sympathy and empathy on every page. His imagination soars fearlessly from self to selflessness and from mortality to immortality, revealing a masterful command of both feeling and existence. Social issues are also woven thoughtfully into the fabric of the work. The three sections trace the poet's natural journey of artistic maturity.

The language is simple, accessible, and authentic. Even when employing free verse, it resonates with echoes of T.S. Eliot.

As chief editor of the annual journal AESTHETICS, I, Emilia Johnson, personally feel that these lyrics have no equal in their lucidity. They read like the authentic recording of a heart that could only belong to a true human being, one that no angel or any other being could ever bear. My personal favorites include "In Your Eyes," "My Angel," "Secret Love," and "Stay."

Wishing you all a deeply moving journey through this manuscript!

Emilia Johnson