We Begin Here: Poems for Palestine and Lebanon [Paperback]

Kamal Boullata (Editor), Kathy Engel (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 2007

We Begin Here: Poems for Palestine and Lebanon contains poems written in response to the 1982 Israeli invasion of Lebanon together with new ones rising from the 2006 Israeli war on Lebanon. Following a great tradition of poetry throughout history, this book shows the vast conscience and lyrical spirit of resistance on the part of poets in support of the dignity, rights, and humanity of the Palestinian and Lebanese people.

We Begin Here is an affirmation of the human and poetic spirit, reminding us that poetry and struggle always "begin here," always leading us back to ourselves, to each other, in community, seeking truth and beauty across all borders.

Contributors include: Kamal Boullata ¥ Sara Miles ¥ June Jordan ¥ Samuel Hazo ¥ Kathy Engel ¥ Gabrielle S. Edgcomb ¥ Pablo Medina ¥ Denise Levertov ¥ Naomi Shihab Nye ¥ James Scully ¥ Chris Llewellyn ¥ D.H. Melhem ¥ Sam Hamod ¥ Barbara Berman ¥ Gregory Orfalea ¥ Etel Adnan ¥ E. Ethelbert Miller ¥ Yasmin Adib ¥ Jane Creighton ¥ Dennis Lee ¥ John Berger ¥ Lawrence Ferlinghetti ¥ Grace Cavalieri ¥ Margaret Gibson ¥ Andy Young ¥ Alexis De Veaux ¥ Richard Schaaf ¥ Nathalie Handal ¥ Joy Harjo ¥ Saladin Ahmed ¥ Susan Sherman ¥ Dennis Brutus ¥ Sarah Browning ¥ Adrienne Rich ¥ Martin Espada ¥ Lisa Majaj ¥ Naomi Lazard ¥ Gale P. Jackson ¥ Robert Bagg ¥ Ariel Dorfman ¥ Frank Reeve ¥ John Balaban ¥ Ammiel Alcalay ¥ Elmaz Abinader ¥ Melanie Kaye Kantrowitz ¥ Raja-e Busailah ¥ Seema Atalla ¥ Wade Fletcher ¥ Khaled Mattawa ¥ Kathryn Levy ¥ Suheir Hammad ¥ Jack Hirschman ¥ Amiri Baraka ¥ Sonia Sanchez ¥ W.S. Merwin ¥ Rashidah Ismaili ¥ Sam Hamill ¥ Hayan Charara ¥ Becky Thompson ¥ Tracie Morris ¥

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Kamal Boullata, editor, is a visual artist, writer and editor living in France. Poetry books he edited include Women of the Fertile Crescent: An Anthology of Modern Poetry by Arab Women and Stranger in a Distant City: Poems by MahmuInd Darwish. He also co-edited with Mirène Ghossein The World of Rashid Hussein: A Palestinian Poet in Exile and If Only the Sea Could Sleep: Love Poems by Adonis. He is the author of Faithful Witnesses: Palestinian Children Recreate their World and Recovery of Place: A Study of Contemporary Palestinian Art (in Arabic).

Kathy Engel, editor, is a poet, teacher, producer and consultant for social justice and peace organizations. Her first book of poems Banish The Tentative, was published in 1989. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies and publications. She is the founder of MADRE, an international women's human rights organization, the former President and co-founder of Riptide Communications, co-founder of East End Women in Black and KickAss Artists. Her new book of poems and personal prose, Ruth's Skirts, is forthcoming from IKON. She traveled to Palestine in 1990.

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Interlink Books (March 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1566566878
• ISBN-13: 978-1566566872
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,717,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Saladin Ahmed has been a finalist for the Nebula, Campbell, and Harper's Pen awards. His short fiction has appeared in magazines and podcasts including Strange Horizons, Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, Apex Magazine, StarShipSofa and PodCastle, and has been translated into Portuguese, Czech, Dutch, and Romanian. His poetry has earned fellowships from several universities, and has appeared in over a dozen journals and anthologies. His fantasy novel Throne of the Crescent Moon is forthcoming from DAW Books in February 2012.