A review by thenarrative
Fugitive Atlas: Poems by Khaled Mattawa

4.0

Fugitive Atlas by Khaled Mattawa
Rating 4/5 Stars
Published by Graywolf Press
Published On 20th October 2020

Thank you to Netgalley, Graywolf Press, and of course, Khaled Mattawa, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fugitive Atlas is a beautifully devastating account of the current refugee crisis, military occupations, and havoc being wrecked across the globe. The poems describe lives, dreams and families - the everyday folks that are at the center of these uneven grounds. It discusses how the globe shapes us as humans and what we can take to become better people. It also covers what we inherit from ancestors and how we love in a world so unpredictable. At its core, the transnational identity is investigated, and truly gets the reader to question - what does it mean to belong in these times?

This collection of poems is BEAUTIFUL. I actually found myself having to take breaks from the book, hence why my review took so long. Each poem is magnificent and needs to be understood in its own time. The poems are authentic and powerful and I believe this is a must read for anyone looking to understand the everyday deals of someone in the unpredictable.