Full Description
This multi-genre anthology is a collection of diverse artistic works ranging from poetry to creative fiction and non-fiction, from drama to photography. The collection is inspired by the multilayered experience of displacement, with a focus on the migration of what Edward Said calls "large aggregates of humanity" of the last several decades.
Most of the contributors to the collection are themselves immigrants or refugees, or have worked with displaced peoples, such as migrants unfairly kept in detention centers or struggling to resettle in their host countries. This offers an added level of authenticity and truthfulness to their work.
The multifaceted artistic exploration of the trauma of migration unfolds with a sense of urgency that engages and awakens readers to the harsh realities faced by millions as they escape war, famine, and gang violence only to encounter new and unexpected difficulties in the countries where they have asked for refuge.
This book could not be more relevant and necessary today, having arisen as a direct and impassioned response to the present realities of the migration of peoples, in the belief that artistic expression in all its forms has the power to transform, heal, raise consciousness, and incite to real action in the world.
Contents
Foreword by Ruth Behar.
Introduction.
Part 1 Waterways.
Human Cries Keep Falling Like Summer by Rain Florinda Ruiz.
Upon Realizing there are Ghosts in the Water by Leila Chatti.
Tristeza/Sadness by Marjorie Agosín.
Bienvenus à la Jungle de Calais/Welcome to the Jungle of Calais
by Domnica Radulescu.
Refugee Song by Mihaela Moscaliuc.
Boat by Khaled Mohammad Ali Al-Maqtari.
The Refugee Considers the Faucet by Philip Metres.
Yemeni Fisherman by Khaled Mohammad Ali Al-Maqtari.
Part 2 Journeys.
Okay When Are We Going by Leila Chatti.
Where Do I Go? by Eric Garcia.
A Strange(r's) Dress by Jennifer Schneider.
A Map of Migration Routes I by Philip Metres.
Refugee Snow by Matthew Murrey.
Home is Where They Let You Live by Jasmin Darznik.
Refugee by Kenneth Hada.
Alien Resident by Mihaela Moscaliuc.
Part 3 Estrangement.
In the Promised Land by Mihaela Moscaliuc.
J'y Suis J'y Reste/Here I Am, Here I Stay by Cristina A. Bejan.
Swallows Sing the Night to Sleep at Lansing Station
by Daniel Lockhart.
Old Bosnia by Lana Spendl.
Mujeres/Women by Marjorie Agosín.
Sanchez Across The Street by Barbara Mujica.
Children by Khaled Mohammad Ali Al-Maqtari.
Miss Me Forever by Eugene Garcia-Cross.
That's Not Nostalgia by Olga Livshin.
Part 4 Voices.
Elegy For My Mother's Employer by Mihaela Moscaliuc.
Confiar/Trust by Marjorie Agosín.
Montage: Iran Present Tense by Elizabeth Eslami.
La Bestia/The Beast by Claudia Bernardi.
The Language of Water by Lee Peterson.
Chalk/La Tiza (A One-act Play) by Catalina Florina Florescu.
When the East and the West Collapse: Poetry and
Ruminations on Immigration, Exile, and Refuge
by Roxana Cazan.
Biographies of contributors.
Index.
