Presented bilingually, this first US publication of Jawdat Fakhreddine?one of the major Lebanese names in modern Arabic poetry?establishes a revolutionary dialogue between foreign, modernist values and classic Arabic tradition. Fakhreddine’s unique voice is a breakthrough for the poetic language of his generation?an approach that presents poetry as a beacon, a lighthouse that both opposes and penetrates all forms of darkness.

Stars:

Stars of ours
that did not shine in the shroud of night,
but we took joy in them
when the night was a gloom all around us.

To our children, we write:
We are not your lighthouse.
Do not follow the path we light,
but be your own secrets.

Jawdat Fakhreddine was born in 1953 in southern Lebanon. A professor of Arabic literature at Lebanese University in Beirut, he is one of the major Lebanese names in Modern Arabic Poetry, and is considered one of the second generation poets of the Modernist movement in the Arab world. He earned an MA in physics and taught at the high school level for more than 10 years. During that time he published a number of poetry collections and was encouraged by Adonis to pursue a PhD in Arabic literature. Fakhreddine intermittently publishes articles and new poems in al-Hayat, an Arab newspaper published in London and distributed worldwide, and in as-Safir, one of the two major Lebanese newspapers. He writes a weekly article in al-Khaleej, a widely distributed gulf daily newspaper. He currently lives in Beirut, Lebanon.