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jayisreading's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Well, this was a stunning poetry collection that will take the reader through an array of feelings ranging from a sense of peace to unrelenting grief. Khalaf Tuffaha, whose heritage is Palestinian, Jordanian, and Syrian, gives the reader a glimpse into Arab life, culture, and memory. Her poignant poems cross geopolitical borders and interweave Arabic and English to create a multisensory experience for the reader that will undoubtedly leave an impact to some degree. Broken into three parts, Khalaf Tuffaha meditates on (im)migration and displacement, writes loving odes to her loved ones and her Arab roots, and unflinchingly draws attention to the violence and suffering in Palestine. While she does cover a wide range of topics, I found that the poems flowed wonderfully from one to the next, ultimately, demonstrating how interconnected these themes are for the poet.
Not a single word goes wasted in this collection, and I truly look forward to reading Khalaf Tuffaha’s other works.
Some favorites: “Upon Arrival,” “Rules for Recitation,” “Immigrant,” “Dhayaa’,” “Circling the Dome of the Sky,” “Eating the Earth,” “Mountain, Stone,” “Running Orders,” “Again and Again,” “Ruin,” “Newsworthy,” “It’s Beirut Out Here,” “Almond Trilogy,” “National Security Advisory,” “Instructions for Making Arabic Coffee,” “My Mother Returns to Her Childhood Home,” “Translation,” “Relocation,” “Time Management,” and “Linger”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, and War
Minor: Racism
blakeandbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
I felt like my jaw was on the floor the entire time I was reading this collection of poetry. It was so blunt and beautiful and heartbreaking, and I absolutely could not look away. When someone can bring you to where they are, when someone is able to personify emotions and places and situations that keep you on the edge of your seat, there is beauty and courage and deliberate choices that go into writing these words.
Some lines that will stick with me for a long time include:
💧”We travel because it means we haven’t gotten to where we’re going yet, the story is still being written and our fractures aren’t done setting.”
💧”It doesn’t matter what you had planned. It doesn’t matter who you are. Prove you’re human. Prove you stand on two legs. Run.”
💧”My daughter wants to know why instead of Never Again which she took into her tender heart as a sacred oath nestled in the pages of her history books and surveying the smoldering expanses of human apathy why is it always again and again somewhere, why must we live in the prison of the past and gather at its altar for more bloodletting?”
💧”if all we love is a lost world then let the dust swallow our names let the maps beneath our feet burn. If all we are is past, who are these millions now gasping for air?”
Some lines that will stick with me for a long time include:
💧”We travel because it means we haven’t gotten to where we’re going yet, the story is still being written and our fractures aren’t done setting.”
💧”It doesn’t matter what you had planned. It doesn’t matter who you are. Prove you’re human. Prove you stand on two legs. Run.”
💧”My daughter wants to know why instead of Never Again which she took into her tender heart as a sacred oath nestled in the pages of her history books and surveying the smoldering expanses of human apathy why is it always again and again somewhere, why must we live in the prison of the past and gather at its altar for more bloodletting?”
💧”if all we love is a lost world then let the dust swallow our names let the maps beneath our feet burn. If all we are is past, who are these millions now gasping for air?”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and War
suzyreadsbooks's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Child death, Violence, and Grief
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