Egyptian Compass

Egyptian Compass is a collection of poems which explore issues of immigration, cultural identity and language. The impetus for the poems stems from my experience immigrating from Egypt to the United States at the age of eight and returning for a long period as an adult. The style of the poetry ranges from narrative to experimental: some poems relay a singular event while others are more fragmented, weaving together various stories, images and thoughts. The act of seeing and being seen occurs throughout the manuscript with some poems addressing how others perceive my identity to poems that relay my perceptions, especially upon returning to Egypt. Language serves as another kind of "eye" throughout the collection where the use of Arabic, whether translated, transliterated or in Arabic script, expresses a kind of layering of visions. The manuscript is divided into six sections, each one bringing together a group of poems that hold some common thread. The first section presents poems of memory, nostalgia, family and the sense of loss; ending with the sharp movement into the United States. The poems in the second section explore the acquisition of English, and the experience of existing simultaneously in two languages. The third section poems relay being stereotyped or misunderstood by others, with the tone ranging from humorous to violent. The fourth section switches to Egypt with poems that move quickly taking in the surroundings of streets, people, smells and sounds. The fifth section poems look closer, highlighting poverty, wealth and the intrusion of the foreign into Egypt. The last section returns to the United States, with poems that express a stronger sense of location while still recognizing the precariousness of geographical and cultural identity.