Sahara

Foreword

“Sahara is a long love song that subsumes its own poetic world as if seen through a prism. It is a testament to loving and writing; two actions that commingle and sometimes compete to get priority. The poet allows us to enjoy every verse of this lush poetry collection and retain it for a long time.”

Paola Caronni

“Sahara is a stellar collection. Ahmed Elbeshlawy’s variety of voices deftly exploits different registers throughout. Though seemingly straightforward, he ironically reveals that little in this world is dismissible and unimportant. Herein lies the heart of the architecture of and the richness therein of Sahara.”

George Watt

“Ahmed Elbeshlawy’s poetic voice is eclectic. Sahara is at once a love saga, a work of philosophy, and a cultural critique. Those Hong Kong-Egypt-based poems are not only written with great passion but are also the product of an interdisciplinary mind that shifts sharply—and delightfully—between the urban, the literary, the social, and the psychoanalytic.”

Cecilia Kak

“Ahmed Elbeshlawy has the insider’s knowledge of the city, but the outsider’s perspective. Sahara provides a miscellany of poems that reward the reading and rereading of them.”

David McKirdy

“Ahmed Elbeshlawy explores the erotics of poetry and the poetry of love. He questions received opinions and preconceptions and evokes poignant memories and recollections. Throughout the collection, there are paeans of praise for the efficacy of poetry, for its importance, especially in times when it is reviled or deemed useless. Those who share his conviction should read this volume.”

Peter Kennedy

“Some real beauty here. Presence, poise, and poetry. There is the welcome alerting crispness of morning desert dew across the collection; with a variety of powerfully sustaining tastes in the life-creating liquid too.”

Andrew Barker