The Blueness of the Evening: Selected Poems of Hassan Najmi

This selection of Hassan Najmi's poems, translated by Mbarek Sryfi and Eric Sellin, provides an excellent introduction to the work of one of Morocco's foremost poets and to a school of modern verse emerging in the Arab World. Scenes of late night cityscapes, lonely interiors, awe-inspiring desert wastes, and seaside vistas are found within the exquisitely subtle lyric moods and nuances of Najmi's ars poetica, providing insight into the geographical, political, and linguistic ferment that have made Morocco an exciting hub of creative activity in the twenty-first century.

Hassan Najmi, born in Ben Ahmed in 1960, now resides in Rabat. He is the author of two novels and ten poetry collections. His poetry has been translated into more than ten languages and he has himself translated many poets into Arabic, including Giuseppe Ungaretti, Sophia de Mello Breyner Andresen, Philippe Jaccottet, Yannis Ritsos, and Anna Akhmatova.

Mbarek Sryfi, a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, has translated fiction, poetry, and non-fiction, including three books, two from Arabic and one from French.

Eric Sellin, professor emeritus at Tulane University, is the author or editor of nine books of poetry written in English and French and many translations published in anthologies and journals. Since his retirement from teaching in 2001, Sellin has been translating poetry and writing essays on the art and theory of translation.