A Sleepless Eye: Aphorisms from the Sahara (Middle East Literature In Translation)

The Libyan landscape is one of the most diverse and breathtaking, replete with barren deserts, vast ocean coasts, and a stunning display of earth’s elements. Al-Koni, an award-winning and critically acclaimed Arabic writer, reflects on this fragile environment and the increasing threats to its existence in A Sleepless Eye, a collection of the poet’s desert wisdom. He highlights the relationships between humans and Libya’s natural features, grouping them by theme: nature, desert, water, sea, wind, rock, trees, and fire. Each theme contains a set of aphorisms that deliver thoughtful perspectives on what it means to coexist with an evolving planet.

This volume is the result of the author’s collaboration with the celebrated French nature photographer, Alain Sèbe, and English translator Allen. The product is a body of work that calls upon readers to question their relationship with the earth through meditative ideas and photos, familiarizing English readers with the fundamental philosophies of environmental stewardship that transcend all boundaries.