Tracing the Ether: Contemporary Poetry from Saudi Arabia

An expansive bilingual anthology, Tracing the Ether showcases twenty-six acclaimed Saudi poets who are reimagining their place in our interconnected, digital world. Breaking away from the traditional focus on pre-Islamic Arabian poetry, this collection presents sixty-two contemporary poems that engage boldly with modernity, cyberspace, and globalization. These award-winning poets employ innovative forms and speculative frameworks to explore how social media and digital culture are reshaping notions of home, identity, and cultural boundaries. Their work demonstrates that far from merely imitating Western models, Saudi poets are crafting distinctive voices that speak to universal human experiences while remaining grounded in their cultural context.

This essential volume fills a crucial gap in both scholarly literature and classroom resources, making contemporary Saudi poetry accessible to English-language readers. Tracing the Ether will prove invaluable to scholars and students of Middle Eastern studies, Arabic literature, comparative literature, and translation studies, as well as anyone interested in understanding Saudi Arabia’s contemporary cultural landscape. By bringing these important poetic voices to a global audience, this anthology contributes to a richer, more nuanced understanding of modern Arabic literature and its place in world literature.

Moneera Al-Ghadeer holds the UNESCO chair in translating cultures at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. She was a visiting professor in the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African Studies at Columbia University and a Shawwaf Visiting Professor at Harvard University.