Kaveh Akbar

Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr! is a paean to how we spend our lives seeking meaning—in faith, art, ourselves, others—in which a newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, embarks on a search that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum. “The best novel you'll ever read about the joy of language, addiction, displacement, martyrdom, belonging, homesickness.” —Lauren Groff, best-selling author of Matrix and Fates and Furies Cyrus Shams is a young man grappling with an inheritance of violence and loss: his mother’s plane was shot down over the skies of Tehran in a senseless accident; and his father’s life in America was circumscribed by his work killing chickens at a factory farm in the Midwest. Cyrus is a drunk, an addict, and a poet, whose obsession with martyrs leads him to examine the mysteries of his past—toward an uncle who rode through Iranian battlefields dressed as the Angel of death to inspire and comfort the dying, and toward his mother, through a painting discovered in a Brooklyn art gallery that suggests she may not have been who or what she seemed. Electrifying, funny, wholly original, and profound, Martyr! heralds the arrival of a blazing and essential new voice in contemporary fiction.

A novel

Martyr!

Addiction. Recovery. Repeat. Akbar blazes the poetry scene with this introspective, powerful and passionate debut.

Poems

Calling a Wolf a Wolf

Kaveh Akbar’s exquisite, highly anticipated follow-up to Calling a Wolf a Wolf With formal virtuosity and ruthless precision, Kaveh Akbar’s second collection takes its readers on a spiritual journey of disavowal, fiercely attendant to the presence of divinity where artifacts of self and belonging have been shed. How does one recover from addiction without destroying the self-as-addict? And if living justly in a nation that would see them erased is, too, a kind of self-destruction, what does one do with the body’s question, “what now shall I repair?” Here, Akbar responds with prayer as an act of devotion to dissonance—the infinite void of a loved one’s absence, the indulgence of austerity, making a life as a Muslim in an Islamophobic nation—teasing the sacred out of silence and stillness. Richly crafted and generous, Pilgrim Bell’s linguistic rigor is tuned to the register of this moment and any moment. As the swinging soul crashes into its limits, against the atrocities of the American empire, and through a profoundly human capacity for cruelty and grace, these brilliant poems dare to exist in the empty space where song lives—resonant, revelatory, and holy.

Pilgrim Bell

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK • A newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum. Electrifying, funny, and wholly original, Martyr! heralds the arrival of an essential new voice in contemporary fiction. “Kaveh Akbar is one of my favorite writers. Ever.” —Tommy Orange, Pulitzer Prize–nominated author of There There “The best novel you'll ever read about the joy of language, addiction, displacement, martyrdom, belonging, homesickness.” —Lauren Groff, best-selling author of Matrix and Fates and Furies Cyrus Shams is a young man grappling with an inheritance of violence and loss: his mother’s plane was shot down over the skies of the Persian Gulf in a senseless accident; and his father’s life in America was circumscribed by his work killing chickens at a factory farm in the Midwest. Cyrus is a drunk, an addict, and a poet, whose obsession with martyrs leads him to examine the mysteries of his past—toward an uncle who rode through Iranian battlefields dressed as the angel of death to inspire and comfort the dying, and toward his mother, through a painting discovered in a Brooklyn art gallery that suggests she may not have been who or what she seemed. Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr! is a paean to how we spend our lives seeking meaning—in faith, art, ourselves, others.

Portrait of the Alcoholic is the first chapbook of poems from Ruth Lilly-winner and founding editor of Divedapper, Kaveh Akbar.

Portrait of the Alcoholic

"The struggle from late youth on, with and without God, agony, narcotics and love is a torment rarely recorded with such sustained eloquence and passion as you will find in this collection." --Fanny Howe This highly-anticipated debut boldly confronts addiction and courses the strenuous path of recovery, beginning in the wilds of the mind. Poems confront craving, control, the constant battle of alcoholism and sobriety, and the questioning of the self and its instincts within the context of this never-ending fight. From "Stop Me If You've Heard This One Before" Sometimes you just have to leave whatever's real to you, you have to clomp through fields and kick the caps off all the toadstools. Sometimes you have to march all the way to Galilee or the literal foot of God himself before you realize you've already passed the place where you were supposed to die. I can no longer remember the being afraid, only that it came to an end. Kaveh Akbar is the founding editor of Divedapper. His poems appear recently or soon in The New Yorker, Poetry, APR, Tin House, Ploughshares, PBS NewsHour, and elsewhere. The recipient of a 2016 Ruth Lilly and Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Fellowship from the Poetry Foundation and the Lucille Medwick Memorial Award from the Poetry Society of America, Akbar was born in Tehran, Iran, and currently lives and teaches in Florida.

AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES DEBUT PRIZE A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN THE OBSERVER, THE NEW YORK TIMES, AND THE NEW YORKER A NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FINALIST Cyrus Shams has always been lost. He’s grown up tangled in the mysteries of his past – an uncle who rode through Iranian battlefields, a haunting work of art by an exiled painter, and his mother, whose plane was shot down over the Persian Gulf when he was just a baby. Now, newly sober and maybe in love, he’s headed for an encounter that will transform everything he thought he knew. Can a final revelation change the truth of Cyrus's life? Electrifying, funny, and all-consuming, Kaveh Akbar's Martyr! is a masterpiece. 'Dazzling' Ann Patchett ‘Profoundly moving' Elif Shafak ‘Gorgeous’ Tommy Orange ‘Radiant’ Lauren Groff ‘Stunning’ John Green ‘Miraculous' The New York Times ‘Sensational’ Daily Mail ‘Kaleidoscopic’ The Guardian * Martyr! was an instant New York Times bestseller w/c 27/1/24

The Instant New York Times Bestseller

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD • ONE OF THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'S 10 BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR • A TIME MUST-READ BOOK OF THE YEAR • A newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum. Electrifying, funny, and wholly original, Martyr! heralds the arrival of an essential new voice in contemporary fiction. “Kaveh Akbar is one of my favorite writers. Ever.” —Tommy Orange, Pulitzer Prize–nominated author of There There “The best novel you'll ever read about the joy of language, addiction, displacement, martyrdom, belonging, homesickness.” —Lauren Groff, best-selling author of Matrix and Fates and Furies Cyrus Shams is a young man grappling with an inheritance of violence and loss: his mother’s plane was shot down over the skies of the Persian Gulf in a senseless accident; and his father’s life in America was circumscribed by his work killing chickens at a factory farm in the Midwest. Cyrus is a drunk, an addict, and a poet, whose obsession with martyrs leads him to examine the mysteries of his past—toward an uncle who rode through Iranian battlefields dressed as the angel of death to inspire and comfort the dying, and toward his mother, through a painting discovered in a Brooklyn art gallery that suggests she may not have been who or what she seemed. Kaveh Akbar’s Martyr! is a paean to how we spend our lives seeking meaning—in faith, art, ourselves, others.

A Novel

Una mujer muere en un avión derribado por el ejército americano. En Nueva York, una artista convierte sus últimos días de vida en una obra de arte. Un militar iraní cabalga vestido de ángel de la muerte entre soldados moribundos. Un viudo pasa su vida en una granja de pollos de Indiana para pagarle la universidad a su hijo. Una chica fuma disfrazada de hombre en las calles de Teherán.

Lazos familiares y casualidades del destino unen todas estas vidas con la de Cyrus, un joven obsesionado hasta lo ridículo con la muerte, los mártires y el sentido de la vida. Puede que la eternidad que busca Cyrus no exista: lo que realmente importa dura en realidad tan solo un instante.

Mártir

Paige Lewis

An anthology edited by acclaimed poets Kaveh Akbar and Paige Lewis. In 1997, Sarabande published Last Call, a poetry anthology which became a formative text on the lived experiences of addiction. Now, more than twenty-five years later, editors Kaveh Akbar and Pagie Lewis offer a contemporary follow-up. Another Last Call: Poems on Addiction & Deliverance showcases work from poets like Joy Harjo, Afaa M. Weaver, Diane Seuss, Layli Long Soldier, Sharon Olds, Jericho Brown, Ada Limón, and Ocean Vuong, as well as many new and powerful voices. Contributors: Samuel Ace, Chase Berggrun, Sherwin Bitsui, Sophie Cabot Black, Jericho Brown, Anthony Ceballos, Marianne Chan, Jos Charles, Brendan Constantine, Cynthia Cruz, Steven Espada Dawson, Megan Denton Ray, Martín Espada, Megan Fernandes, Sarah Gorham, Joy Harjo, Mary Karr, Sophie Klahr, Michael Klein, Dana Levin, Ada Limón, Zach Linge, Layli Long Soldier, Sharon Olds, Airea Dee Matthews, Joshua Mehigan, Tomás Q. Morín, Erin Noehrem, Joy Priest, Dana Roeser, sam sax, Diane Seuss, Natalie Shapero, Katie Jean Shinkle, Jeffrey Skinner, Bernardo Wade, Afaa M. Weaver, The Cyborg Jillian Weise, Phillip B. Williams, Ocean Vuong

Poems on Addiction and Deliverance

Another Last Call

A poetry anthology on addiction edited by acclaimed poets Kaveh Akbar and Paige Lewis. The follow-up to Sarabande's Last Call: Poems on Alcoholism, Addiction, & Deliverance, Another Last Call is a collection of poems from forty contemporary, living poets, all speaking to the experience of addiction. For some, it's not their own experience of addiction that's altered the trajectory of their living, but the suffering of a beloved. Represented are contemporary poets such as Joy Harjo, Afaa M. Weaver, Diane Seuss, Layli Long Soldier, Sharon Olds, Jericho Brown, Ada Limón, and Ocean Vuong, as well as many new and dazzling voices. In their introduction, editors Kaveh Akbar and Paige Lewis write, "What this anthology feels like to us is a poetry mixtape, lovingly curated and organized for you, dear reader, that it might usefully illuminate or complicate or accompany you in your living."

Last Call Volume 2: Poems on Addiction and Deliverance

‘I will carry this story, and the people in it, with me for the rest of my life' JOHN GREEN, author of The Fault in Our Stars A BOOK OF THE YEAR IN: The New York Times Time Guardian USA Today Vanity Fair NPR The Atlantic Electric Lit Vox The New Yorker 'Smart, dazzling, different . . . This book is thrilling.' Ann Patchett, author of Tom Lake 'Playful, soulful, kaleidoscopic, honest and profoundly moving' Elif Shafak, author of The Island of Missing Trees 'What Akbar pulls off in Martyr! is nothing short of miraculous' The New York Times Cyrus Shams has always been lost. He’s grown up tangled in the mysteries of his past – an uncle who rode through Iranian battlefields, a haunting work of art by an exiled painter, and his mother, whose plane was shot down over the Persian Gulf when he was just a baby. Now, newly sober and maybe in love, he’s headed for an encounter that will transform everything he thought he knew. Can a final revelation change the truth of Cyrus's life? Electrifying, funny, and all-consuming, Kaveh Akbar's Martyr! is a masterpiece. * Martyr! was an instant New York Times bestseller w/c 27/1/24

An Observer Book of the Year

Kaveh Akbar ha escrito la nueva gran novela americana: finalista del National Book Award y una de las diez mejores novelas del año según The New York Times. Una mujer muere en un avión derribado por el ejército americano. En Nueva York, una artista convierte sus últimos días de vida en una obra de arte. Un militar iraní cabalga vestido de ángel de la muerte entre soldados moribundos. Un viudo pasa su vida en una granja de pollos de Indiana para pagarle la universidad a su hijo. Una chica fuma disfrazada de hombre en las calles de Teherán. Lazos familiares y casualidades del destino unen todas estas vidas con la de Cyrus, un joven obsesionado hasta lo ridículo con la muerte, los mártires y el sentido de la vida. Puede que la eternidad que busca Cyrus no exista: lo que realmente importa dura en realidad tan solo un instante. «Un libro bellísimo, lleno de frases que te apuñalan con su poesía.» The New Yorker «En pocas palabras: esta novela es un milagro.» Junot Díaz, The New York Times Book «Kaveh Akbar retrata todo el espectro de la vida, y de la muerte, con gran belleza y delicadeza.» Raven Leilani, autora de Brillo «La mejor novela jamás escrita sobre el júbilo del lenguaje, la adicción, el desarraigo, el martirio, la pertenencia, la nostalgia.» Lauren Groff, autora de En manos de las furias. El libro que ha enamorado a Barack Obama y ha sido nominado al National Book Award va sin embargo más allá, dibujando un árbol genealógico que atraviesa décadas y deseos, para narrar la historia más fascinante de los anhelos del hombre y su eterna búsqueda de sentido.

¡Mártir!

„Unul dintre scriitorii mei prefera?i. Din toate timpurile.“ – Tommy Orange Roman finalist la National Book Award, cea mai bun? carte a anului pentru The New York Times Book Review Cyrus este un tân?r cu o mo?tenire complicat?: mama lui moare într-un avion civil distrus din gre?eal? de o rachet? american?, iar el p?r?se?te Iranul împreun? cu tat?l s?u ?i se stabile?te în SUA. Via?a pe care o duce p?rintele lui ca imigrant în America pare îns? la fel de lipsit? de sens ca moartea mamei, iar Cyrus, ap?sat de un acut sentiment al absurdului, î?i alin? o vreme angoasa cu ajutorul alcoolului ?i al pastilelor. Din aceast? deriv? existen?ial? încol?e?te îns? o idee: moartea – ?i mai ales moartea sa – trebuie s? aib? sens. A?a începe obsesia lui Cyrus pentru martiriu, care îi anim? conversa?iile cu prietenii, îi inspir? poemele, i se strecoar? în vise ?i îl aduce în cele din urm? în compania lui Orkideh, o artist? care a ales s?-?i tr?iasc? ultimele clipe de via?? ca exponat într-un muzeu. Între ei se leag? o rela?ie nea?teptat?, prin care Cyrus sper? s? g?seasc? în sfâr?it un r?spuns la marea întrebare care-l fr?mânt?: „Cum arat? o moarte bun??“. „Martir! e cel mai bun roman pe care-l ve?i citi despre frumuse?ea limbii, martiriu, adic?ie, dezr?d?cinare sau art?.“ - Lauren Groff „Martir! este deopotriv? un fascinant studiu de caractere ?i o saga de familie.“ - The New York Times Book Review „O comedie a existen?ei… Scriind acest roman despre un poten?ial martir care se pierde în cli?ee ?i pove?ti pe care nu le mai ascult? nimeni, Kaveh Akbar a ar?tat c? singura cale de a g?si un sens în via?? este aceea de a-?i scrie propria poveste.“ - The Atlantic „Un roman str?lucit, impregnat de umor ?i absurd, de o seriozitate profund?. Punctul lui de atrac?ie st? în felul în care Kaveh Akbar las? s? se întrevad? haosul vie?ii f?r? s? încerce prea tare s?-l îmblânzeasc?.“ - The Los Angeles Times Kaveh Akbar (n. 1989) este autorul volumelor de poeme Calling a Wolf a Wolf (2017) ?i Pilgrim Bell (2021; cea mai bun? carte a anului pentru Time, The Guardian ?i NPR). A primit mai multe Premii Pushcart, o burs? Civitella Ranieri Foundation ?i Levis Reading Prize. În 2014 a creat Divedapper, o platform? online unde sunt publicate interviuri cu cele mai importante voci ale poeziei contemporane. Kaveh Akbar pred? la University of Iowa ?i sus?ine cursuri de scriere creativ? pentru programele de masterat de la Randolph College ?i Warren Wilson College. Poemele îi sunt publicate în ThThe New Yorker, Poetry, PBS NewsHour, The Paris Review, Best American Poetry ?i The New York Times. Martir! este primul lui roman.

Martir!

"The Palace is a long poem by Kaveh Akbar. Two woodcut images were created by artist Jenny Pope to accompany these poems." -- Kalamazoo Book Arts Center website.

The Palace

Korean edition of [Martyr!] by Kaveh Akbar. NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER. SHORTLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD. A newly sober, orphaned son of Iranian immigrants, guided by the voices of artists, poets, and kings, embarks on a remarkable search for a family secret that leads him to a terminally ill painter living out her final days in the Brooklyn Museum. Electrifying, funny, and wholly original, [Martyr!] heralds the arrival of an essential new voice in contemporary fiction. Korean edition translated by Dong Hyeok Gang.

Kaveh Akbar

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