Different Ways to Pray

“Different Ways to Pray” adds to the works of Arab American literature—a literary tradition that extends to the 1800s and since the 1960s, has seen a substantial increase in voices. With an influx of Arab immigrants to America between 1960-80, Arab Americans turned to writing as a form of self-expression, writing about their ethnic heritage and culture. With war breaking out in the Middle East in the 1970s and 80s, many Arab Americans struggled to understand and define their identity, which they did through literature, poetry, and writing. The Arab American literary tradition, while drawing on many American literary traditions, also “touched, sometimes glancingly, sometimes directly, on Arab identity and probed what had been lost during the generations of assimilation” (Majaj, Lisa Suhair. “Arab-American Literature: Origins and Developments.” American Studies Journal. 2008.). Nye’s poetry squarely falls within this tradition, as her poems often apply pressure and question what it means to be an Arab American and an artist.

“Different Ways to Pray” is largely a poem about the Middle East, Islam, and Arab culture. Citing specific cultural words such as “Mecca” (Line 23) and “Allah” (Line 40), Nye clearly alludes to Muslim