Sharing the Losses: Poems for Palestine

Description

The intention of this volume of poetry by Gilbert Schramm is to raise public awareness and understanding of the ongoing conflict in Palestine/Israel. The poems presented here were written in Saudi Arabia between 2001 and 2006. At that time he was in close contact with a Palestinian community. It was the time of the initial US response to the 9/11 attacks and Palestinians were under tremendous duress. A few poems were written in response to later events. They should readily appeal to anyone interested in peace, justice, human rights and the Middle East.

In these poems the author tried to empathetically imagine how Palestinians might feel under the conditions they face under Israeli occupation. A short introduction helps clarify the author’s viewpoint and provides useful historical context for the poems. This includes some observations on Arabic poetics and reliable sources for further reading.

The poems themselves are informed by the Schramm’s years of research into Middle Eastern history, religion, culture, and literature. His many years of living in the region leave him well qualified to comment on the subject. Each poem is prefaced by a short quote from other poets (mostly Arabs), who have written on the same subject. It is hoped that this tactic will help introduce the rich tradition of Arabic resistance poetry to readers new to the subject.

The poems themselves range from “big picture” historical reflections to much smaller, personally observed, human incidents. In terms of style, they encompass a wide range of poetic approaches, from formal, rhymed verse to more experimental forms.

The volume also includes a number of poems which express Schramm’s feelings about the US invasion and occupation of Iraq. These were written at about the same time as most of the Palestine poems. The very late “Mountain” poem expresses his sympathy for the aspirations and suffering of the Kurdish people. It was written in response to a request to support the work of a Kurdish NGO that was using arts and culture to promote a process of truth and reconciliation in the wake of many years of war there.

The recent horrific outburst of violence in Palestine demonstrates once again how important it is to finally find a just solution to the festering problem of Palestinian dispossession. The basic goal of this work is to raise awareness of that issue and encourage others to work towards a just, comprehensive, sustainable solution.

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