A Boat to Lesbos and other poems by Nouri Al-Jarrah

Shortlisted for the inaugural Sarah Maguire Prize for Poetry in Translation

A Boat to Lesbos is a powerful and compelling epic poem, written while thousands of Syrian refugees were enduring frightening journeys across the Mediterranean before arriving on the small island. Set out like a Greek tragedy, it is passionate and dramatic witness to the horrors and ravages suffered by Syrian families forced to flee their destroyed country, seen through the eye of history, the poetry of Sappho and the travels of Odysseus. Plus poems written while the poet visited Lesbos during the refugee crisis.

Translated from Arabic by Camilo Gómez-Rivas and Allison Blecker.

Published by Banipal Books, 2018.