The Earth in the Attic

A Palestinian-American doctor treats big themes — war, death, religion — on an intimate scale.

Sample Verse
”Halimah’s mother did not seem aware Halimah was dying./You should have seen Halimah fight her airlessness/Tzwisting around for a comfortable spot in the world.”

Bottom Line
Some poems in The Earth in the Attic read like reportage, but Fady Joudah’s best work uses his gift for detail to achieve a clear-eyed lyricism. B+

• By Ken Tucker