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Nathalie Handal

ナタリー・ハンダル

Nathalie Handal

Profile

Gender
Female
Born
1969-07-29 (Haiti)
Nationality
French, American, Palestinian, Haitian
Languages
English, French, Arabic, Spanish
Residence History
France → Italy → United States (New York City) → Latin America → Caribbean → Asia → Arab world → Rome → Paris

Career

Occupations
poet, writer, educator, professor
Active Years
1990-
Affiliations
New York University, Columbia University (visiting), Sierra Nevada University (Low-Residency MFA faculty), The American University of Rome (Visiting Writer), Leipzig University (Picador Guest Professor), Ca' Foscari University of Venice, John Cabot University

Education

Bennington College
Creative Writing (MFA) / Creative Writing
Degree: MFA
Country: United States
MFA in Creative Writing
University of London
English and Drama (MPhil) / Department of English and Drama
Degree: MPhil
Country: United Kingdom
MPhil in English and Drama

Awards

National Endowment for the Arts (Fellowship)
Organization: National Endowment for the Arts
Result: 受賞
Lannan Foundation Fellow
Organization: Lannan Foundation
Result: 受賞
Independent Publisher Book Award (Gold Medal)
2011
Work: Love and Strange Horses
Organization: Independent Publisher
Result: 金賞
PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award
2001
Work: The Poetry of Arab Women (ed.)
Organization: PEN Oakland
Result: 受賞
Virginia Faulkner Award for Excellence in Writing
Work: The Republics
Organization: Virginia Faulkner Award
Result: 受賞
Arab American Book Award
Work: The Republics
Organization: Arab American Book Awards
Result: 受賞
Palestine Book Award
2019
Work: Life in a Country Album
Organization: Palestine Book Awards
Result: 受賞
Agnes Lynch Starrett Poetry Prize (shortlisted)
2005
Work: The Lives of Rain
Organization: University of Pittsburgh Press
Result: 候補

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

The Lives of Rain

2005 Poetry

A collection of poems exploring nature, memory, and diasporic families and places, weaving personal experience with historical memory.

memorydiasporanature

Love and Strange Horses

2010 Poetry

A poetry collection about love, history, and journeys, characterized by multilingual and multicultural perspectives.

journeylovecultural intersection

The Republics

2015 Flash fiction / Poetry

A suite of short, condensed works crossing flash fiction and poetry, notable for formal experimentation and narrative diversity.

formal experimentationidentityhistory

Life in a Country Album

2019 Poetry

A poetry collection rooted in memories of home, family, and photographs, intersecting Palestinian perspectives with personal history.

homephotographymemory

Bibliography

  • The Neverfield Poem
  • The Lives of Rain
  • Love and Strange Horses
  • Poet in Andalucía
  • The Invisible Star/La estrella invisible
  • The Republics
  • Life in a Country Album
  • Volo (chapbook)
  • Editor: The Poetry of Arab Women
  • Co-editor: Language for a New Century

Translations of Works

  • Las horas suspendidas: poemas escogidos (Spanish selection)
  • Poeta en Andalucía (Spanish edition)
  • Le vite della pioggia (Italian edition)
  • Life in A Country Album (UK edition)
  • Selected Poems: 2005-2019 (Syria)

Style & Themes

Literary Style
multilingual, fragmentary poeticslyrical and prose-poetry narrationformally experimental international style
Recurring Motifs
diaspora and homememory and photographytravel and borders

Legacy

Nathalie Handal is recognized as an international poet and editor who has brought Palestinian diasporic and multicultural experiences into poetry and anthologies, notably introducing Arab women poets to wider English-speaking audiences.

Trivia

  • Born in Haiti to a Palestinian family from Bethlehem.
  • Based in New York City, Rome, and Paris; works across multiple languages as a writer, translator, and editor.