Yahia Lababidi

Author's Bio

Egyptian-American thinker, poet and author of 7 books in 4 genres. Lababidi's new book, "Where Epics Fail" (Unbound, UK) is available as a limited hardcover edition, from the publishers: https://unbound.com/books/where-epics-fail/ *** 'Epics' was featured on PBS NewsHour and is generously endorsed by Obama's inaugural poet, Richard Blanco. *** Previously, Lababidi's Balancing Acts: New & Selected Poems (1993-2015) debuted at #1 on Amazon's Hot New Releases. *** His work has appeared on NPR, Best American Poetry, AGNI, World Literature Today, On Being with Krista Tippett and Lababidi has participated in international poetry festivals throughout the USA, Eastern Europe as well as the Middle East. *** Nominated for a Pushcart Prize, three times, his writing has been translated into several languages, including: Arabic, Hebrew, Slovak, Spanish, French, Italian, German, Dutch, and Swedish.

Publications and Prizes

Prizes Won: 
Aphorisms nominated for a Pushcart Prize by Tiferet Journal (2017) // Poetry nominated for Pushcart Prize by World Literature Today (2010)// and by Jam Tarts Magazine (2016) Prose nominated for Best of the Web, Dzanc (2010)// Poetry Finalist, Emerging Writer Fellowship, Fall 2010 (The Writer's Center: www.writer.org)// "Signposts to Elsewhere" (Jane Street Press) selected for Books of the Year, 2008, by The Independent (UK)and Year in Books, 2007, by The Sun Sentinel (USA)// Films, by Swoon, based on poems of mine, shown at International Festivals: Mountaineer(USA), Experimental Film (Kroatia) Visible Verse (Vancouver) Vimfest (México) and Bideodromo (Spain) all in 2011.// Chosen as a Juror for the 2012 Neustadt International Prize for Literature -widely considered to be the most prestigious international prize after the Nobel Prize in Literature.
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Reviews, Recordings, and Interviews

(Video) Yahia Lababidi on Wisdom and Poetry in the Era of Twitter (The Intellectual Diversity Podcast—March, 2019)
Where Epics Fail: Meditations to Live By by Yahia Lababidi (World Literature Today—Spring, 2019)
What Lababidi's Humble One-liners Can Teach Us about the times we live in (PBS NewsHour, 2017)
(Video) Poetry & Aphorisms Reading in Austin, Texas (Malvern Bookstore - November, 2017)
Aphorist, Poet, Public Intellectual (2 Paragraphs, 2016)

More Information

Listed as: 
Creative Nonfiction Writer, Poet
Gives readings: 
Yes
Travels for readings: 
Yes
Identifies as: 
Arab American
Prefers to work with: 
Any
Fluent in: 
Arabic, English
Born in: 
Egypt, Egypt
work_excerpt: 
"Aphorisms are an ancient form, but its current-day master is Yahia Lababidi." —Richard Blanco * "If Lababidi were in charge of a country, I would want to live there.” —Naomi Shihab Nye * "Lababidi may be our greatest living aphorist." —Sharon Dolin * Amazon Page: https://t.co/cf8D35nTrW
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Last updated: Mar 25, 2019