Suheir Hammad - Def Poetry
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Palestinian-American poet and political activist Suheir Hammad.
She –author of three books, two-time winner of the Audre Lord Writing Award, and co-recipient of the 2005 Sister of Fire Award– is what you would call a “political poet.” This longtime Brooklyn resident sees her poetry as news, containing the power to influence and illuminate the world. She believes that she has as much right to write poems about hot-potato, topical issues-Iraq, Palestine-as the more common subjects of poets, like love and death. “Poetry has no greater vocation than transformation,” she tells her students during a class for aspiring poets at the Bowery Poetry Club. “We don’t need poems that just describe a moment.” (Source: Cypher)
She has used her poetry to protest against the war in Iraq and the Bush administration, and to support the Palestinian freedom movement and women’s rights.
Here is another short one:
Suheir Hammad, a poet from Brooklyn, appeared on the debut episode of HBO’s “Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry.” Her poetry has been featured on the BBC World Service and National Public Radio, and her work has appeared in publications as diverse as Essence, Stress, Hip-Hop Magazine and the Middle East Report. Her poems can also be found in anthologies including New to North America, Listen Up!, The Space Between Our Footsteps, and 33 Things Every Girl Should Know About Women’s History. Hammad’s produced plays include Blood Trinity (NY Hip-Hop Theatre Festival) and ReOrientalism (Center for Cultural Exchange). She has also appeared at universities and prisons throughout the United States. (Source: HBO)
You can read an interview with Hammad here and visit her website at SuheirHammad.com
[Hat tip: Haytham Zeidan]
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3 Comments on “Suheir Hammad - Def Poetry”
Dear Haitham. Please listen carefully to Suheir Hammad’s words. She condemns both sides of the conflict and declares herself the only martyr. So basically this is the zionits “Left” argument. both sides are evil, only the proverbial “we” are the victims. if you believe the Palestinian resistance, with all its flaws, is as immoral as the Israeli slaughter, occupation, and apartheid, then Suheiur Hammad makes sense.
As a general rule, no Arab ever received an American pat on the shoulder unless there is something fundamentally crooked with his (in this case her) approach to the conflict.
Left the Left,
Palestinian resistance is moral, of course, but killing innocents by anyone (including the Palestinians) is immoral. Does it click now?
except that Hammad did not make an attempt to differentiate between moral resistance and immoral resistance. That’s very convenient if you ask me. And more importantly, to the americans, all palestinian resistance is immoral hence the constant demand to stop “terror” before negotiations, to the Americans, there is no such thing as a legitimate zionist target. all Israelis, including the majority who are trained and armed to kill palestinains, are innocents no matter how much blood is on their hands. case in point the unanimous support of the americans for the Israeli war crimes in Lebanon after Hizboualah killed Israeli soldiers. and another case in point is the American support for the Israeli retaliation and bombardment of Palestinians after the resistance captured an Israeli solider. So Suhair at best is a Fatah poet,not a palestinian poet. Double Click.