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Books by Lasana M. Sekou
37 Poems /
Brotherhood of the Spurs /
Big Up St. Martin /
Born Here /
Love Songs Make You Cry
Mothernation: Poems from 1984 to 1987 /
National Symbols of St. Martin /
Quimbé: Poetics of Sound
The Salt Reaper: Poems from the Flats
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Nidaa
Khoury, Palestinian Poet
Signs
agreement in
Medellin, Colombia
with
Caribbean
Publisher
GREAT BAy, St. Martin
(June 30, 2004)—House of Nehesi Publishers and leading
Palestinian poet Nidaa Khoury signed a letter of intent on June
24, in Medellin, Colombia to publish her new book of poems in
St. Martin, Caribbean, said Lasana M. Sekou.
Khoury and Sekou were in the South American
city to read poetry at the 14th annual International
Poetry Festival of Medellin, organized by Prometeo. It is
thought to be the first time that two participants of the
festival signed such an agreement at the height of the citywide
event.
“We are looking at a publishing date of
2005, if all stays on schedule,” said Sekou, House Nehesi’s
projects director who signed on behalf of the St. Martin
publisher. “But either way once the publishing agreement is
finalized, work will proceed steadily until this new book
project is realized.”
Khoury was a favorite poet among the
Medellin public attending the just concluded poetry festival.
Widely read in the Arab world, her books have been published in
Israel, Egypt, and Jordan and include The Prettiest of Gods
Cry, The Barefoot River (in Arabic and Hebrew), Rings
of Salt, The Belt of Wind, Braid of Thunder,
and The Culture of Wine. Khoury, born in the Upper
Galilee village of Fassota, lives in Israel and is involved in
the Path to Peace organization and other human rights, NGO, and
scholarly work.
In spite of the complexity of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict her work has been taught at Haifa
University on the one hand and has been scrawled on public walls
by Palestinian youths fighting for their rights. “This is a
fascinating opportunity to bring this soulfully beautiful and
virtually prophetic voice to the Caribbean and the Americas,”
said Sekou. This will also be the first time that Khoury would
be published in the Americas.
The new collection is planned for
publication in English, Arabic, and Hebrew. House of Nehesi
initiated discussions with the author to publish her newest
collection in 2001, when Sekou first read and heard the English
translations of Khoury’s poetry at Poetry Africa International
Festival in South Africa, where both poets met.
“As with the new works of giants like
Lamming, Brathwaite, and Baraka published by House of Nehesi,
Khoury’s book will keep the bar raised to the highest in the
literary arts while being profoundly engaged in the human
liberation process.
“This is great inspiration and positive
competition for aspiring writers and for our new authors. St.
Martin people deserve this. And while we are a very small press,
our wider Caribbean readers should expect no less from us,”
said Sekou. Last week’s brief signing ceremony in Medellin
took place in the restaurant of the Gran Hotel and was witnessed
by Fernando Rendón, director of the International Poetry
Festival of Medellin and the literary journal Prometeo.
Over 60 poets from over 50 countries and
territories from the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa, Europe,
Asia and the Pacific participated in the 10-day festival, which
according to Sekou, “was attended literally by thousands of
people.” Sekou and Khoury were also part of a smaller group of
poets selected by the organizers to premier the festival in the
Colombian capital of Bogotá.
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By Nidaa Khoury
Khoury's poetry is fired by belief in
the human and the spiritual at a time
when many of us feel unreal and often
spiritually hollow.—Yair
Huri, Ben-Gurion University
Written in water and ink, in between the
shed blood. Nidaa Khoury's poems take us
to the bosom of an ancient woman . . .
an archetype revived. The secret she
whispers is 'smaller than words.'—Karin
Karakasli, author, Turkey
Nidaa Khoury was born in Fassouta, Upper
Galilee, in 1959. Khoury is the author
of seven books published in Arabic and
several other languages, including The
Barefoot River, which appeared in Arabic
and Hebrew and The Bitter Crown,
censored in Jordan. The Palestinian poet
is studied in Israeli universities and
widely reviewed by the Arab press. The
founder of the Association of Survival,
an NGO for minorities in Israel, Khoury
has participated in over 30
international literary and human rights
conferences and festivals. Khoury is the
subject of the award-winning film, Nidaa
Through Silence. Currently a senior
lecturer at Ben-Gurion University,
Khoury's poem Portal to the Orient is
being produced by Sarab for Dance for
performance in Palestine. Book of Sins
introduces this important Middle Eastern
poet to the Caribbean and the Americas. |
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Ataturk: Lessons in Leadership
from the Greatest General of the Ottoman
Empire
by Austin Bay
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was a Muslim
visionary, revolutionary statesman, and
founder of the Republic of Turkey. The
West knows him best as the leading
Ottoman officer in World War I’s Battle
of Gallipoli—a defeat for the Allies,
and the Ottoman empire’s greatest
victory. Gaining fame as an exemplary
military officer, he went on to lead his
people in the Turkish War of
Independence, abolishing the Ottoman
Sultanate, emancipating women, and
adopting western dress. Deeply
influenced by the Enlightenment, Atatürk
sought to transform the empire into a
modern and secular nation-state, and
during his presidency, embarked upon a
program of impressive political,
economic, and cultural reforms.
Militarily and politically he excelled
at all levels of conflict, from the
tactical, through the operational, to
the strategic, and into the rarified
realm of grand strategy. His ability to
integrate the immediate with the
ultimate serves as an important lesson
for leaders engaged in the twenty-first
century’s great military struggles. He
became the only leader in history to
successfully turn a Muslim nation into a
Western parliamentary democracy and
secular state, leaving behind a legacy
of modernization and military and
political leadership. |
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The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
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Ancient African Nations
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Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
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Enjoy!
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The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
/
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
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The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
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