The Iron Grasshopper

Forthcoming in July 2025

Through vivid vignettes and lyrical prose, The Iron Grasshopper transcends memoir, immersing readers in the poignant and turbulent realities of his Kurdish childhood in mid-twentieth-century Syria.

The Kurdish Syrian poet and novelist Salim Barakat, born in Al-Qamishli, northern Syria, in 1951, is considered one of the most distinctive writers in contemporary Arabic literature. Since his first volume of poetry appeared in 1972, he has mesmerized the Arab literary scene with his unique Kurdish themes and his exalted Arabic language. After spending his twenties exclusively writing poetry, Barakat published The Iron Grasshopper in 1980. This unique memoir is now finally available in English translation.

In The Iron Grasshopper, Barakat offers a poignant and evocative portrayal of his childhood. Set against the backdrop of the mid-twentieth century, Barakat’s memoir recounts his formative years in a small town near the Taurus Mountains. Through a series of vivid and often unsettling vignettes, he captures the turbulence and wonder of growing up in a landscape marked by political upheaval, cultural conflicts and personal discovery.

Barakat’s narrative navigates the complex interplay between time and place, presenting childhood not as a distant memory but as a living, breathing reality unfolding before the reader’s eyes. His recollections weave together moments of innocence with the harsh realities of violence and social oppression, particularly highlighting the discrimination faced by Kurds in his hometown. Barakat’s story is that of a Kurdish child who found himself rejected by his Arab nationalistic state, a rejection that not only affected Barakat’s relationship with the places of his childhood but also heavily influenced his approach to the Arabic language itself and the intimate literary space where he found his voice as a writer.

The memoir’s rich prose and lyrical reflections invite readers into Barakat’s inner world, where the boundaries between past and present blur, and the simplicity of childhood is juxtaposed with profound existential musings.