مشاعر معدلة وراثيا (Genetically Modified Feelings)

Genetically Modified Feelings is the latest collection of poetry in Arabic and English from poet and filmmaker Sawsan Al Areeqe.

This deeply personal and soul searching body of work moves through three worlds – the Virtual World, Between Two Worlds and the Parallel World. Exploring  life and death, relationships, fear and uncertainty, it is a visceral investigation into lifelong trauma and wounds. The collection begins with Eleven Poems Burning In My Head, an apt illustration of Sawsan’s innate need to express herself through poetry.

‘A conscious writing process, which made me burn with ice, and sometimes fire.’

Commissioned in 2022, Sawsan has not only developed Genetically Modified Feelings as a collection but has undertaken for the first time the task of translating her own work from Arabic to English. Sawsan is currently working towards publishing Genetically Modified Feelings in 2025.

‘Only writing was healing my soul, and it has never abandoned me, even on dark nights… Writing was and still is my life project, and I always give it my priority. I relied on it to create a parallel life, which made me overcome all problems, challenges, and barriers that stood or will stand in my way.’

Sawsan Al Areeqe

Sawsan Al-Areeqe is a poet and filmmaker from Yemen. She is the author of four poetry collections. The Square of Pain was the subject of a documentary film as a graduation project (Sana’a 2004). More Than Necessary received the Literature Award from Lebanon (2007). What if My Blood Turned into Chocolate won the Creative Award in Sana’a (2011). Her fourth collection, Expired Death, was written during her Artist Protection Fellowship in Glasgow University (2018|2019). Previously, Sawsan held a writer’s residence position in the USA, following an invitation from Iowa University’s International Writing Program (2013).