This excerpt comes from my translation of Abdourahman Waberi’s "When We Only Have the Earth" (African Poetry Book Series, University of Nebraska Press, 2025). A nomad at heart, Waberi’s interior and exterior journeys take us across the globe, offering rich insights into the humanity that connects us all as we face growing threats to our planet. “Heaven is on earth and nowhere else” is the wisdom he shares with us.
Nancy Naomi Carlson on "A Touch of Salt on My Confession" |
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What Sparks Poetry:
Matt Broaddus on Building Community
"A major interest of mine, in terms of bringing in historical reference, is just trying to acknowledge that where I am is not the be-all-end-all and won’t be the be-all-end-all. What I mean by that is that where I’m writing from is just a blip, you know, and my writing and my literary self on the page is in many ways an outgrowth of historical forces that are beyond my control. I think that one way I can feel like my art is engaging with these forces is to write about them and to move the past into the present." |
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