Duy Nguyen / Pexels

We planted an olive tree
nose pointed towards the sky
we planted olive trees
on the banks
of the dawning day
the moist temples of the moment
we planted a man
his destiny suspended
between two branches
yet to be born.

In the rosary that slowly blackens
the golden river announces itself. 

Samira Negrouche
Critically acclaimed writer Samira Negrouche was born in Algiers where she continues to live and work. Author of eleven poetry collections, several artists’ books and a collection of essays, she is a poet and translator who enjoys multidisciplinary collaborations, frequently working with musicians, visual artists and choreographers. Her work has been shortlisted for the Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry and the National Translation Award in Poetry. Her publications in English include The Olive Trees' Jazz and Other Poems (Pleiades Press, 2020), translated by Marilyn Hacker and Solio (Seagull Books, 2024), translated by Nancy Naomi Carlson. 

Nathalie Handal
Nathalie Handal is described as a “contemporary Orpheus.” She has lived in four continents, is the author of 10 award winning books, translated into over 15 languages, including Life in a Country Album, winner of the Palestine Book Award; the flash collection The Republics, lauded as “one of the most inventive books by one of today’s most diverse writers,” and winner of the Virginia Faulkner Award for Excellence in Writing and the Arab American Book Award. Handal is the recipient of awards from the PEN Foundation, Lannan Foundation, Fondazione di Venezia, Centro Andaluz de las Letras, and Africa Institute, among others. She is professor of literature and creative writing at New York University-AD, and writes the literary travel column, “The City and the Writer” for Words without Borders magazine.