Arabic poets of the modern age. He attended
school in Basra and Baghdad, earning a degree
in Arabic from Baghdad University, before
beginning his career as an educator and journal-
ist. Meanwhile, he continued to write poetry and
to develop his style and voice. In the 1950s and
1960s, he primarily wrote political poetry, striv-
ing to be a voice of his people. In the 1970s, his
poetry began to shift to include subjects from
everyday life. Youssef’s first major volume of
poetry translated into English wasWithout an
Alphabet, Without a Face (2002), in which
‘‘America, America’’ appears. The volume won
the 2003 PEN Award for Poetry in Translation.
It was in 1957 that Youssef experienced his
first exile: After taking an unauthorized trip to
Moscow, he was forced to stay in Kuwait until a
revolution occurred in Iraq a year later. In the
1960s, Youssef had a brief stay in jail, followed
by a job teaching and writing (journalism) in Alge-
ria. In 1971 he returned to Iraq to take a job with
the Ministry of Culture, but when Saddam Hus-
sein ascended to power in 1979, Youssef left his
native Iraq permanently. Under Hussein’s increas-
ingly dominant regime, Youssef was under intense
pressure to join the leader’s Baath Party, even to
the point of threats. His exile took him to various
parts of the world, including Syria, Lebanon,
Yugoslavia, Yemen, Jordan, Algeria, France, and
finally London, where he made a permanent home.
In the literary world, Youssef has made a
name for himself with more than thirty volumes
of poetry, in addition to fiction, essays, and
translations. In fact, he has translated into Ara-
bic the works of such luminaries as Walt Whit-
man (who is mentioned in ‘‘America, America’’),
George Orwell, Federico Garcı ́a Lorca, Wole
Soyinka, and V. S. Naipaul. As of 2008, Youssef
was living in London.POEM TEXTGod save America,
My home, sweet home!
The French general who raised his tricolor
over Nuqrat al-Salman where I was a prisoner
thirty years ago... 5
in the middle of that U-turn
that split the back of the Iraqi army,
the general who loved Saint Emilion wines
called Nuqrat al-Salman a fort...
Of the surface of the earth, generals know only
two dimensions: 10
whatever rises is a fort,
whatever spreads is a battlefield.
How ignorant the general was!
ButLiberationwas better versed in topography.
The Iraqi boy who conquered her front page 15
sat carbonized behind a steering wheel
on the Kuwait-Safwan highway
while television cameras
(the booty of the defeated and their identity)
were safe in a truck like a storefront 20
on Rivoli Street.
The neutron bomb is highly intelligent.
It distinguishes between
an ‘‘I’’ and an ‘‘Identity.’’
God save America, 25
My home, sweet home!
Blues
How long must I walk to Sacramento?
How long must I walk to Sacramento?
How long will I walk to reach my home? 30
How long will I walk to reach my girl?
How long must I walk to Sacramento?
For two days, no boat has sailed this stream,
Two days, two days, two days.
Honey, how can I ride? 35
I know this stream,
But, O but, O but,
For two days, no boat has sailed this stream.Saadi Youssef(Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images)
America, America