Published Book Reviews

The Unfurling: Ni‘mah Ismail Nawwab

2004, Selwa Press, 0-9701157-9-2, $14.95 pb.
By Robert W. Lebling
Aramco World
Western readers with preconceived notions about what it means to be a woman in today’s Saudi Arabia will find this book an eye-opener. Those without preconceptions will find it a most pleasurable learning experience. Ni‘mah Nawwab, Saudi poet, essayist, editor and photographer, writes fluently in English, sharing in poetry her thoughts, her emotions, her important life experiences.
She speaks of her identity as a Saudi woman, of her family, of her personal joys and frustrations, and of the fractious and fascinating world beyond her own circle. She is surprisingly at ease in juxtaposing the traditional and the modern. With poetry, she explores the horrors of war and terrorism, and somehow finds precious remaining scraps of humanity in the wreckage. Nawwab deals realistically with life’s problems, yet she emerges as an optimist, a champion of the human spirit. Her poems are refreshingly honest and unafraid. (Robert W. Lebling) (SO04)

Book of Poems: The Unfurling
by Nimah Nawwab
Selwa Press, California $14.99
reviewed by Stephen L. Brundage

When a flag is furled, it is rolled tightly against its staff; conversely, when it is unrolled, it takes the wind and flies. In the case of The Unfurling, a new book of poetry by Saudi writer Nimah Ismail Nawwab, what is heard is the too-often silent voice of the Arab woman. Nawwab has earned recognition as a writer of magazine articles—usually lengthy and detailed pieces of objective prose. In this latest effort, she demonstrates a penchant for subjective, short pieces filled with emotion and intellectual curiosity.
The book is divided into three parts followed by a brief collection of short poems and haiku. Each part deals with a different level of human experience, from a woman trying to assert her individuality while maintaining both pride and reverence, to Islamic traditions, to an expression of her various roles as mother, wife, daughter and granddaughter. The book also discusses the global carnage and the restraints of societies and nations that use war, terrorism and intolerance to dim what ought to be a golden era in human history.

In “The Longing,” the first poem of the collection, Nawwab examines the concepts of freedom and self-realization in the context of the Arabian Peninsula. The chapter is called “Awakenings,” and she focuses her feelings on a variety of topics from the abaya to poverty and the fears most people have of death.

“Contours,” the book’s second chapter, is a celebration of her love of family, tradition and the region’s rich heritage. In the somewhat comical “Call to Prayer,” she describes the struggle of a modern family trying to get the children organized to go to the mosque and how to handle teenage issues. Grandparents and loved ones take a special place in this chapter, but Nawwab also writes about the clash of cultures and some of the less-pleasant family issues, including spouse abuse.

The clash of Middle Eastern and Western cultures is further explores in the final chapter, called “Crossroads,” in which Nawwab expresses her views on recent events that have shattered the peace of the world—events that regrettably bring us the most frequent public views of Muslim women as agonizing widows and stunned mothers, grappling with the loss of children due to acts of war or terrorism. If the veil has served to muffle the voice of Muslim women, then “The Unfurling,” may be doubly precious as a reminder that this silence is produced neither by ignorance nor self absorption, but rather respect and reverence for long-standing cultural traditions.

It is for that reason that Nawwab’s poetry will likely find its way into university classrooms—concentrating on Middle Eastern literature or women’s studies. It is also for that reason that people seeking to understand Muslim women (a number that will hopefully include Muslim men) will find a unique and articulate window to the soul in The Unfurling.