• Poetry

In the Face of the Dragon (Part II)

Author:
Nadim Choufi
Post Date:
3 Apr 2026

The second part of Nadim Choufi's cento poem.

In Practice: Nadim Choufi, SculptureCenter, NY, 2025, installation view. Courtesy of the artist and SculptureCenter. 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.