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Rolando Kattan, translated by Katherine M. Hedeen and Víctor Rodríguez Núñez

Rolando Kattan’s Bullet-Proof Vest introduces into English a major poetic voice from Honduras, emerging against a long history of cultural and literary erasure. Writing through the lived lens of Honduras, through the crucial lens of his Palestinian heritage, Kattan moves across geographies and inheritances, a seeker going beyond the limits of national and ethnic identity. Here poetry is a site of encounter, a way to reckon with the past, a way to confront the present, a way of survival, a way back home.

PRAISE

At last, English-language readers can encounter the poetic world of Rolando Kattan—one of the most compelling voices of our generation, and among those closest to my heart since the first poem of his I ever read. I was struck early on by the realization that this poet—who had not yet set foot in Palestine—could write of the olive trees planted by his ancestors and mine on the hills surrounding Jerusalem with the intimacy and sensitivity of someone who had grown up in their shade. Though Kattan was born in another land and writes in another language, and is profoundly Honduran; I also see him as one of Palestine’s finest contemporary poets—among the closest to me, perhaps the closest. That this book appears in a translation signed by a translator of Katherine Hedeen’s distinction and a poet of the stature of Víctor Rodríguez Núñez, makes it, unquestionably, a poetic event worthy of celebration.

Najwan Darwish, Author of No One Will Know You Tomorrow: Selected Poems 2014-2024

You are holding this book because there are still nonexistent poets who come from a nonexistent land in search of a nonexistent melody. There are still poets who write to the olive trees by the dim light of memory, who make the world smaller and more still, who pedal blindfolded until they come across their grandfathers digging the earth. Rolando Kattan is such a poet, blending rich lyricism and tragedy effortlessly, with tenderness, immediacy, and wisdom. In a world where everything is disposable, he creates poetry that will live longer than stones.

Valzhyna Mort, Author of Music for the Dead and Resurrected 

The poems in Bullet-Proof Vest by Honduran poet Rolando Kattan pierce through, leaving us breathless—and finally breathing. Each poem opens a horizon, a question, a longing. To Kattan, memory is body, country, language: “I walk and think about family. / Memory comes like this, a mist, / returning parts of our lives to us, / like headlights / as they cross the dark road.” Shaped by Honduras and his Palestinian heritage, his poetry—resilient and profoundly alive—collapses time. The masterful translation by Katherine M. Hedeen and Víctor Rodríguez Núñez captures Kattán’s lyrical, reflective voice and the soil from which his breath springs. He is a vital voice in Honduran and contemporary Central American poetry. A collection that lingers long after the last page.

Nathalie Handal, Author of Life in A Country Album

Poetry, Spanish & English

Publication date: April 16, 2026

Format: Softcover, 154 pages, 6" x 9"