Perhaps the most ambitious project of my lifetime – at once elusive yet evocative – to produce a new verse translation of the Noble Book, the Holy Qur’an. I could never attempt such a project without the insight and the wisdom of a poet/scholar. Rafey Habib, Professor of Literature at Rutgers, is that rare person who can sing and reason in the same breath.

Together we are hoping to evoke some of the aroma of the original Arabic text without striving or claiming to exhaust its treasure house of meanings. Our combined effort, The Qur’an: A Verse Translation, is due to be published in Spring 2023 from W.W. Norton.