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Nadine Ltaif's poems reflect deeply on the meaning of life, of regrets and the irrepressible determination to continue living. The poet takes us to Carthage; to Andalusia to contemplate its history of Moors, wars and religion; to India where women?s lives, past and present, are expressed through vivid imagery. Hamra sees the exiled poet return to Beirut, the childhood home she fled in 1975. Yet, her poems are full of colour and lightness as she explores her old neighbourhood. This you will not read is a letter of love and absence in Montreal. Journeys are inspirational for Ltaif.

Author Biography

Nadine Ltaif is a poet and translator, living in Montreal. Her first book, Les Mtamorphoses d'Ishtar, was published by Guernica in 1987. Three books of her poetry, Le livre des dunes, Le rire de l'eau and Ce que vous ne lirez pas have been published in Montral by Le Norot. Her book Entre les fleuves was translated by Christine Tipper and published by Guernica under the title Changing Shores. An English version of Les Mtamorphoses d'Ishtar, translated by John Asfour, was published by Guernica. She has translated John Asfour's book Nisan into French.Christine Tipper holds a Ph.D. and a Masters in French literary translation from the University of Exeter, England, and is a Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists and of the Conseil International d'tudes Francophones. She works as a freelance interpreter, translator and a freelance teacher of translating and interpreting on Masters programmes at the University of Bath. She has translated several authors for Guernica including Changing Shores by Nadine Ltaif, Evelyne Wilwerth's Smile, you're getting old, Danielle Fournier's We Come From The Same Light and Francis Catalano's Where Spaces Glow.

Review

This paradoxical push-and-pull embodies many other themes that recur throughout Journeys, including the poet's Arab identity, diaspora, how civilizations pass into dust over time, and the role of woman.--Canadian Literature: A Quarterly Criticism and Review
This uncomplicated poetry's images, whether observing Montreal or India, allow us to reflect deeply on the meaning of life, of regrets and an overwhelming desire to continue to live.--Le Devoir

Review Quote

?This uncomplicated poetry?s images, whether observing Montreal or India, allow us to reflect deeply on the meaning of life, of regrets and an overwhelming desire to continue to live.? Po

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