{"product_id":"we-are-still-in-the-fort-poems-paperback","title":"We Are Still in the Fort: Poems - Paperback","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cp style=\"text-align: right;\"\u003e\u003ca href=\"https:\/\/reportcopyrightinfringement.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"\u003e\u003cb\u003eReport copyright infringement\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eMuyaka Bin Haji Al-Ghassaniy\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eRichard Prins\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003eWe Are Still in the Fort\u003c\/i\u003e is a curated selection of about seventy poems by Muyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy divided into three sections spanning the quotidian, the amorous, and the political. The first part, \"I Swipe Their String of Fish: Poems of Mombasan Society,\" features his often satirical commentary on daily life in Mombasa. The second part, \"Take Your Misery With You: Poems of Love and Marriage,\" focuses on his psychologically sensitive observations on the volatility of love, marriage, and illicit affairs. The last part, \"We Are Still in the Fort: Poems of War and State,\" includes epigrammatic critiques of local political leaders and a series of anti-imperialist poems defending Mombasa's independence against the invading Omani Empire. The volume also features contextual materials on Muyaka and the context of Swahili poetry, a translator's note, and introductions for each of the three sections.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMuyaka bin Haji al-Ghassaniy\u003c\/b\u003e (1776-1840) was the earliest secular Swahili poet whose identity is known. He has been credited with bringing Swahili verse \"out of the mosque and into the marketplace\" with his commentary on daily life in Mombasa and its frequent battles defending its independence against the Omani Empire. He also popularized the \u003ci\u003emashairi\u003c\/i\u003e quatrain form that serves to this day as the predominant form of Swahili verse. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eRichard Prins\u003c\/b\u003e is a lifelong New Yorker who has lived, worked, studied, and recorded music in Dar es Salaam. He currently teaches creative and expository writing at Queens College. His own poetry has appeared in dozens of publications such as \u003ci\u003eGulf Coast\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ejubilat\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003ePloughshares\u003c\/i\u003e, and his creative nonfiction was selected for inclusion in \u003ci\u003eThe Best American Essays 2024\u003c\/i\u003e. He is the author of the Birdhouse Prize-winning chapbook \u003ci\u003eWe May Eat Fruit\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eBrain Flavor: A Lyric History of Swahili Hip Hop\u003c\/i\u003e, as well as the translator of the Africanfuturist novel \u003ci\u003eThey Are Us\u003c\/i\u003e, for which he received a 2023 PEN\/Heim Translation Fund Grant and a 2024 National Endowment for the Arts Translation Fellowship.\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 212\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.48 x 8.36 x 5.52 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\n            \u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e April 15, 2026\u003c\/div\u003e\n            ","brand":"BooksCloud","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47977727918301,"sku":"9780826500007","price":36.23,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0811\/9867\/8237\/files\/OFztQX9hog9780826500007.webp?v=1780091913","url":"https:\/\/handfulofbooks.com\/products\/we-are-still-in-the-fort-poems-paperback","provider":"Handful of Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}