Gulf poetry collection seeks to promote unity

The editors of a new anthology of Gulf poetry, including work by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, hope the collection will foster a sense of unity. More than 70 per cent of the poems in Gathering the Tide have been translated into English for the first time. “We hope that it will enable its readers to come to understand and appreciate differences among peoples of different regions and varying cultures even as they gain a greater sense of, and appreciation for, all that unites us,” says Jeff Lodge, the co-editor. “The poets in this anthology grapple with the same hopes and fears as we all do. They celebrate life, they contend with loss. They wonder at contradiction, they marvel at paradox. They do so in a region with a long and exceptional history, and with a fascinating and rapidly evolving present.”The anthology includes the work of almost 100 poets, ranging from Sheikh Mohammed to a 19-year-old poet from Bahrain called Laala Kashef Alghata. Gathering the Tide can be pre-ordered at Amazon.com and will become available in bookshops next month. It can also be ordered directly from the publisher, Garnet Publishing & Ithaca Press, at Dh92 for the soft cover and Dh220 for the hardback.