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The Silence That Remains: Selected Poems - Paperback | Diverse Reads

The Silence That Remains: Selected Poems

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"[A] rare occurrence in the poetry world."—American Book Review

As a child, Ghassan Zaqtan lived in a refugee camp near the River Jordan. While that painful experience deeply influenced his poetry, when Zaqtan was awarded the prestigious Griffin International Prize, the judges noted: "His words turn dark into light, hatred into love, death into life. His magic leads us to the clearing where hope becomes possible, where healing begins across individuals, countries, races."

When interviewed by PBS for their special on Palestinian poets, Zaqtan said, "I am not the kind of person who will walk in front of the demonstration. I walk behind the demonstration in order to collect the small things that may fall, whether it's the handkerchief or a child's backpack or a purse."

This generous volume represents two decades of incandescent creativity.

Handkerchief

Nothing's left to say between us
everything went
into the train that hid its whistle
in the smoke that didn't become a cloud
in the departure that gathered your limbs
Nothing's left to say between us
so let your death be
the insight of dazzling silver
and let the sun of those cities
be a rose on your shoulders

Ghassan Zaqtan is the author of over a dozen books of poetry and fiction, and has edited the poetry journal Al-Soua'ra and the literary magazine of the Palestine Liberation Organization, Bayader. He lives in the West Bank city of Ramallah, where he is the Founding Director of The House of Poetry.

ISBN-13: 9781556595141

Media Type: Paperback

Publisher: Copper Canyon Press

Publication Date: 08-08-2017

Pages: 250

Product Dimensions: 6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.90(d)

Table of Contents

Foreword Fady Joudah xi

From Old Reasons

Conversations with My Father 5

Strangeness 9

Other Conversations 11

Strangeness 17

Other Things 19

Rain 21

Old Reasons 23

Three Stones 27

Old Reasons 29

A Swallow 31

Another Place 33

Biography 35

A Song 37

From Banners

Migration 41

Sign 43

Calm Day 45

Passing 49

You Must Pause 51

Their Absence 53

Fingers 55

Defense 57

Night Watch 59

Stillness 61

Hebron 63

Abu Zuhair 65

Third Evening 67

Landmarks 69

Three Intentions 71

Position 73

Handkerchief 75

Shadows 77

From The Heroism of Things

If the Boy Could Cry 81

Pillow 83

The Death of the Artillery Youth 85

That Life 87

He Was Alone 89

Siege 91

Collective Death 93

Will They Believe 95

Jericho's Convent 97

Mirror 99

Mirror 101

Relationship 103

Another Death 105

Khalil Zaqtan 111

Slow Down, Girl 113

Their Absence 117

My Things 119

Jealousy 123

Glee 125

Had You Slept beside Me 129

We Are There 131

Biography 133

Happy with My Things 135

Your Cunning Bracelets 139

Beyond That 143

Bodies on Grass 145

All of Them 147

A Lifetime 149

Later On 151

Jinn Bird 153

Always 155

From Not for My Sake

Not for My Sake 159

In Praise of Exile 161

Throne 167

Betrayal 169

That Is Lying Now 171

Their Toys 173

A Woman in Damascus That Year 175

While She Was Sleeping in Baghdad 177

We Weren't There 181

Curfew 183

A Survival Also 185

Things That Don't Happen 187

Also the House 189

From Zodiac of the Horse

Three Hallways 197

From Luring the Mountain

Return 205

Enemies 207

The Dog and the Clock 209

The Sleeper's Hymn 211

Exile's Hymn 213

The Hallway's Hymn 215

Hymn for Longing 217

The Lover's Song 219

The Stranger's Song 221

Song of the Missing 225

Song of the Three Patrols 227

A Voice 229

Children of Palm Trees 231

From Biography in Charcoal

Blind 235

Follow That Smell 237

Karameh 1965 239

Damascus 1986 241

Tunis 1992 243

Birzeit 1998 245

A Scream over the Woods 247

Vehicles in the Dark 251

Index of Titles 253

About the Author and Translator 255