The Writer’s Block: A Video Q&A With Mazen Maarouf

Mazen Maarouf is a Palestinian poet and writer who was raised in Lebanon. He currently lives in exile in Iceland and has been lauded as a “rising international literary star,” after the publication of three books of poetry: The Camera Doesn’t Capture Birds, Our Grief Resembles Bread, and most recently An Angel Suspended on the Clothesline. Maarouf came to City of Asylum Pittsburgh in April, 2014 and translations of his poems were read by his translator, the poet Nathalie Handal. In this interview Maarouf discusses why he doesn’t write political poetry, the complications of translating his poems, and the process of writing for as large an audience as possible.