Gathering the Tide

Gathering the Tide: An Anthology of Contemporary Arabian Gulf Poetry brings readers into the rich and vibrant world of the Arabian Gulf, offering an understanding of the people and culture of the region through poetry. A handful of anthologies represent the Middle East in general, or individual Middle Eastern countries; however, this is the first collection that presents poets from across the Arabian Gulf. The Arabian Gulf has a distinct and deeply rooted tradition of poetry and a thriving contemporary literary community. This anthology offers an exciting collection of poems by poets from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Gathering the Tide makes available to English-language readers the important literary work being undertaken by the poets of the Arabian Gulf. The anthology includes poetry from established and rising poets in the region and encompasses a wide range of poems and poets, from the work of Laala Kashef Alghata, a nineteen-year-old poet from Bahrain, to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Emir of Dubai. While several of the poets composed their poems in English, most of the poems were translated from Arabic to English by an exceptional team of accomplished translators. The Gulf has attracted global attention for its explosive growth, and the poets within contemplate every-thing from souks to shopping malls, to love, loss, and solitude, to war, peace and beyond.