"Portable Cactus" by Ateeb Gul: A Poem about Grief & Hope

We're back for part two of our six-part series in Season 2 of Voices from the Sky! This week, we welcome Ateeb Gul, who in our last episode, introduced us to his poem "Portable Cactus," which was originally published in Issue 5 (Summer 2018) of Sky Island Journal.

In this episode, he takes us all the way back to his childhood in Pakistan to deliver his journey to becoming a published poet, translator, and academic writer. He also offers advice to fellow writers, talks a little literary theory with Jeff, and enriches our experience with this tremendous poem.

Ateeb Gul is a Ph.D. candidate in the Islamic Studies specialization. His areas of research are Islam in South Asia, sirah literature (biographies of Prophet Muhammad), gender in Islamic thought, religion and literature, the history of science and philosophy in the Islamic world, and Islam and New Atheism. He studied for a B.Sc. (honours) in Social Sciences at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (L.U.M.S.) and for an M.A. in Editorial Studies at Boston University. He is also a professional editor, author, poet, and translator. His literary work has featured in Literary Imagination, Ink in Thirds, and Sky Island Journal.

As promised, here is the link to Helen Sword's book, Stylish Academic Writing, from Harvard University Press (2012).

Join us next week as we feature another one of our favorite pieces and writers from Sky Island Journal. You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com

You can enjoy more incredible works of poetry, flash fiction, and creative nonfiction from writers all over the globe at: https://www.skyislandjournal.com