Sabbagh’s poetry aims for a kind of sophisticated simplicity.  Without being overly ‘experimental’ in his writing of verse, rather, being quite conservative in his aesthetic as a poet, Sabbagh’s poetry is highly responsive to the intimate and personal life.  His published poetry to date is in the main subjective, lyrical and/or confessional, while still opening gates and portals for his readers onto their own lived, felt lives.  As a critic, Sabbagh proves a mixture of the concept geek and the nuance nerd.  Highly educated in interdisciplinary ways, his critical writing aims for pellucidity and insight, while making use of tangential domains, like philosophy, psychoanalysis, and theology for instance.  As a critic Sabbagh is both a sensitive close reader, fueled by and fueling finesse, but also at times overtly muscular, without being tendentious.  Indeed, as with his critical prose, it is in his creative prose, his longer-form and shorter-form fictions, where Sabbagh can at times purposively push the boundaries of language-use and formal innovation.  Overall, across different genres, Sabbagh’s writing, however variegated, evinces a voice that is highly intelligent but also deeply compassionate.