When We Only Have the Earth

When We Only Have the Earth - Paperback

$17.95
Sale price  $17.95 Regular price 
Skip to product information
When We Only Have the Earth

When We Only Have the Earth - Paperback

by Abdourahman a. Waberi
$17.95
Sale price  $17.95 Regular price 

Book Overview

In this ode to the earth and all its living creatures, French Djiboutian poet, novelist, and essayist Abdourahman A. Waberi sounds the alarm about our imperiled planet, where "the Sahel rises in you, in me / the Red Sea boils in you, in me / Nunvut is melting in you, in me." This translation by Nancy Naomi Carlson preserves the rich musicality of the original French, as well as its frequent use of wordplay and often unusual word choice.

Waberi, a nomad at heart, takes us on a whirlwind tour across North America, Africa, and Europe, daring us to love the earth "beyond all rational thought" and to "turn into earth, both literally and figuratively," as we "turn from vanity, fears, and other pointless rustling." These lyrical, playful, and moving poems urge us to look for the truth and beauty hidden in our daily lives, singing of Waberi's own enduring love for our endangered planet and also, more forcefully, exhorting us to join him in the collective fight to save our planet from destruction.
ISBN9781496241351
Author Abdourahman a. Waberi
PublisherUniversity of Nebraska Press
GenreLiterature
FormatPaperback
PublishedMarch 2025
LanguageENG- English
Pages80
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

1% fer Each of the Seven Seas

Every purchase sends 7% of our profits to The Ocean Cleanup. No fine print, no opt-in — just how we sail.

Whoever Ye Be, Welcome Aboard

Queer lit, music, art, philosophy, fiction — stories for every kind of soul. Come as ye are, matey.

About Abdourahman a. Waberi

Abdourahman A. Waberi was born in Djibouti in 1965 and has lived in France since 1985. He has published numerous books, articles, and stories. His first collection of short stories, Le Pays Sans Ombre (published in English as The Land without Shadows) won Belgium's Royal Academy of French Language and Literature Grand Prix. J. M. G. Le Clézio recognized and paid tribute to Waberi in his 2008 Nobel Prize in Literature lecture. David and Nicole Ball, both independent translators in Northampton, Massachusetts, have published several translations separately, as well as together, including Lascaux: A Work of Memory. David Ball won the Modern Language Association's prize for literary translation in 1996. Percival Everett, professor of creative writing at the University of California-Riverside, is the author of many novels, including, most recently, The Water Cure.

You may also like