",I wrote poetry befo r e I wrote anything else,", says Susan Abulhawa, esteemed Palestinian-American autho r a nd social activist, in the introduction to her first book of poems, My Voice Sought the Wind . This new wo r k follows her highly acclaimed novel, Mo r nings in Jenin , which has been translated into 32 languages since it was published in 2010. My Voice Sought the Wind presents five years of Abulhawa's best poems on the timeless themes of love, loss, identity, a nd family, brought to life through her vivid observations a nd intimate personal reflections. She speaks fr om her own experience, with a style that is romantic, but tinged with disillusionment, often a bit sad a nd always introspective. The five sections of the book echo her personal journey, fr om the pain of separation fr om her homela nd a nd her bitter, yet nostalgic memo r ies of the past, through various phases of love a nd regret, through the experience of mo r tality, a nd finally to her reconciliation with the future a nd hope of new birth. My Voice Sought the Wind resonates with the wo r ks of Pablo Neruda a nd other icons of the wo r ld poetic canon, while heralding a powerful new voice that is distinctively lyrical, distinctively feminist, a nd distinctively Palestinian. The grapevine cover a nd interio r motifs by the talented U.K.-ba sed graphic designer Muiz complement the poetry by evoking the struggle, pain, promise, a nd hope experienced throughout the process of cultivating grapes-- o r poems.