Naomi Shihab Nye was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1952 to a Palestinian father and an American mother. She grew up in Ramallah, Jerusalem and San Antonio, Texas, where she graduated with a BA in English and world religions. She has published many collections of poems, including her latest Tender Spot (Copper Canyon Press & Bloodaxe, 2007) To read the review in Banipal 32 click here.

Also, You and Yours (BOA Editions, 2005), which received the Isabella Gardner Poetry Award, 19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East (2002), a collection of new and selected poems about the Middle East, Fuel (1998), Red Suitcase (1994), and Hugging the Jukebox (1982).

She has received many awards and fellowships for her poetry, including the 1988 Academy of American Poets' Lavan Award, selected by W. S. Merwin. Naomi Shihab Nye, recipient of many awards, is the author of numerous books of poems, including 19 Varieties of Gazelle, Poems of the Middle East, Fuel, Red Suitcase, and Hugging the Jukebox. Among her books for children is the award-winning Sitti’s Secrets.

Nye is also the editor of several poetry anthologies, including This Same Sky. She lives in San Antonio, Texas, and has written or edited 30 books


Contributor's Issues

Banipal 38 - Arab American Authors (2010)

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