Not one, but two, important literary events are on the horizon: Adonis, the esteemed Syrian poet, will be in New York on Monday, October 25 at the 92nd Street Y and at Yale’s Whitney Humanities Center on Tuesday, October 26; both are readings from his newly published book, Adonis: Selected Poems.

Adonis is one of the most celebrated poets of the Arabic-speaking world, and this volume serves as the first comprehensive survey of Adonis’s work,allowing English readers to admire the arc of a remarkable literary career through the labors of the poet’s own handpicked translator, Khaled Mattawa. 

In the meantime, you can read more about Adonis and his thoughts on poetry in today’s New York Times profile by Charles McGrath.