The poems in this collection move from memories of Libya before the revolution, to Libya engulfed in violent turmoil, to life in exile in the brooding landscape of Norway. Seen through the eyes of the refugee poet, the vibrant colours of the Libyan landscape, the horrors and ravages of revolution, and the strangeness of a new life within the Arctic Circle, come into sharp focus in this powerful book.

Poetry. Middle Eastern Studies. Translated from the Arabic by Brenda Hillman and Diallah Haidar. "In POEMS FROM ABOVE THE HILL, Ashur Etwebi compactly renders experience in a hauntingly classical way. His work is rooted in the landscapes of his country, and in inventing forms in his literary traditions that will capture his engagement with his place and culture. His poetry is intimate but grand, innovative but traditional, influenced by Modernist poetry...yet populist and accessible. His phrasing and syntax are often very unpredictable, risk-taking, experimenting with neologisms, inventing language. In his work, there is often a strongly elegiac note; his irony reminds one of Eliot, his imagistic purity reminds one of Pound. Yet he has an intimate knowledge of his fellow creatures that brings to mind William Carlos Williams. Ashur Etwebi enters the mysterious places of the land and sea through the experiences of the human beings he encounters, never engaging in sentimental homage but putting forward a powerful and delicious reverie and a poetic vision"--Brenda Hillman.