- Poetry
In the Face of the Dragon
- Author:
- Nadim Choufi
- Post Date:
- 19 Feb 2026
The first part of Nadim Choufi's cento poem.
In Practice: Nadim Choufi, SculptureCenter, New York, 2025, installation view. Courtesy of the artist and SculptureCenter, New York. Photo: Charles Benton.
In the Face of the Dragon (2025) is a cento poem composed entirely from lines borrowed from over 90 Arab poets who transform themselves, their lovers, and their people into animals and natural elements. The book-length poem follows two protestors as they shed their skin for one another, drawing on the poetic lineage of acquiring new skins to speak of love and defiance in the face of destruction and dehumanisation.
The book was commissioned and published by SculptureCenter, New York, and it was translated into English by Suneela Mubayi.
For Ibraaz Publishing, the poem has been divided into three parts and is accompanied by an essay by Maru Pabón.