Customs

Customs is Solmaz Sharif's second collection of poetry, published by Graywolf Press in 2022. The book examines experiences of migration, border crossings, and cultural displacement. The poems move through various settings including airports, security checkpoints, and bureaucratic spaces where identity is scrutinized and questioned. Through precise language and attention to form, Sharif documents encounters with authority and surveillance. The collection builds on themes from Sharif's previous work while exploring new territory around nationalism, belonging, and the ways systems of power operate on the individual. It questions what it means to be categorized as foreign or familiar in an increasingly monitored world. The work speaks to broader questions about identity, citizenship, and how customs - both cultural practices and government institutions - shape human experience. Through its investigation of borders both literal and metaphorical, the collection considers how people navigate spaces of transition and control.

Readers emphasize the book's exploration of immigrant experiences, Middle Eastern identity, and the impact of bureaucratic systems. Many note the innovative use of language and form, with several poems incorporating government documents and official terminology. Readers connect with: - Raw emotional honesty about displacement and loss - Creative formatting and whitespace usage - Integration of Persian and English - Commentary on surveillance and power structures Common critiques: - Some poems feel abstract or difficult to access - Narrative threads can be hard to follow - Political themes overshadow personal elements Ratings: Goodreads: 4.2/5 (1,200+ ratings) Amazon: 4.5/5 (100+ ratings) One reader notes: "The way she uses bureaucratic language against itself is brilliant." Another states: "Some poems left me cold - too distant from the human experience they describe." The book resonates particularly with readers who have immigrant backgrounds or experience with government systems.

Citizen Illegal by José Olivarez This poetry collection chronicles immigrant identity and the complexities of Mexican-American life through language that moves between English, Spanish, and bureaucratic terminology.

Look by Solmaz Sharif This earlier collection from Sharif examines the intersection of political power and language through the lens of military terminology and personal history.

The Country Between Us by Carolyn Forché These poems document experiences as a human rights advocate in El Salvador while interrogating the relationship between witness and language.

Deaf Republic by Ilya Kaminsky This book-length poem sequence unfolds in an occupied territory where deafness becomes both resistance and metaphor for political silence.

Night Sky with Exit Wounds by Ocean Vuong These poems navigate the Vietnamese refugee experience through a framework of documentation, memory, and official records.

🔸 "Customs" was published in 2023 and is Sharif's anticipated follow-up to her acclaimed debut "Look," which was a finalist for the National Book Award. 🔸 The author grew up in Istanbul and Los Angeles after her family fled Iran, experiences that deeply inform her exploration of borders and identity in this collection. 🔸 The U.S. Customs and Border Protection processes approximately one million travelers per day at various ports of entry, creating the kind of encounters Sharif examines in her work. 🔸 Sharif teaches at Arizona State University and was previously a Jones Lecturer at Stanford University, where she also received her poetry fellowship. 🔸 The book's title "Customs" plays with multiple meanings - referring both to border checkpoints and to cultural traditions, reflecting the collection's layered examination of identity.