Poetry reading draws Nye
Published 5:00 pm Monday, October 27, 2003
Naomi Shihab Nye’s poems make small moments loom large.
The Arab-American writer, who speaks on Bainbridge Island on Nov. 7, uses language to bridge the gap between her life in contemporary America and her Palestinian roots in poems that transport readers as well.
With words anchored to the senses – the smell of one fig, the precise green of a “pitcher the size of two thumbs,” a single sprig of rosemary – Nye accumulates details that become indelible portraits of individuals and place, and an antidote to a worldview shaped by headlines.
“People reject other people’s platforms, but I don’t see how they can reject other people’s stories,” Nye said. “Because we’re living in a time of empty rhetoric, of haki fawthi, because there is so much of that in both directions, there’s a deeper need for other kinds of language.”
Nye’s writing, which encompasses essays and children’s books, as well as poetry, has been honored in this country with awards that include a Guggenheim and four Pushcart Prizes.
Her most recent collection of poetry, “19 Varieties of Gazelle: Poems of the Middle East” (2002) was shortlisted for a National Book Award.
But it is often the response of individual readers that moves her most, Nye says.
During her unrehearsed interview for the PBS program NOW with Bill Moyers, a fan since he read her poems while recuperating from heart surgery, Nye was caught off guard when the host produced a folded copy of a poem from his wallet.
“I almost started crying right there on TV,” she said. “I knew he liked it, but I had no idea he carried it with him.”
She recalls memorable fan mail from a 12-year-old Canadian girl who had read “Habibi,” Nye’s young adult novel about a contemporary Arab-American teen’s adjustment when her family moves to Jerusalem.
“Not only had ‘Habibi’ been her favorite book,” Nye said, “she described how, when she was reading it, she begged her mother to cook her Middle Eastern food. She told me ‘I just want you to know I will never look at the world the same way.’ It was very touching.”
Nye wants to reveal sides of Arab culture she encountered growing up in Missouri, Jerasalem and, later, while travelling throughout the Middle East. She recalls standards of hospitality that make dinner guests of strangers and the elevation of relationship over time-driven schedules.
“For Arab peoples everywhere, we think of the Middle East as a place of deep friendliness,” she said.
Representing all Arabs to her fellow Americans is a responsibiltiy Nye takes up with urgency, to counter a tendency to write off the Middle East as “a stone-age place” without humor or intellectual stimulation.
Sept. 11 still looms large for her, and opens lectures to students with an up-front reference.
“I feel as an Arab American I have to mention it,” she said. “I think it’s very important to say that Arab Americans and all peace-loving Arabs from every country are doubly upset – not only because of the tragedy, but also for this terrible blot cast across the Middle East, not to be healed in our lifetime.”
Nye says she feels a personal responsibility to speak up more often than usual.
“On that day I remember thinking ‘Okay, now we’re all working overtime for the rest of our lives making positive reparations.’”
Sharing her poetry is a personal contribution to mutual understanding and peace, she says, and a way to maintain her own balance.
“Writing doesn’t solve all of our problems,” she said, “but it certainly does shine the light on them.”
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The Bainbridge Island Arts and Humanities Council sponsors a reading by acclaimed poet, essayist and children’s author Naomi Shihab Nye, at 2 p.m. Nov. 1, at the Bainbridge High School Gym. Tickets: $10/general; $5 students/seniors (65-plus); $50/Sponsor for preferred seating and a signed book; $100/Patron for preferred seating, reception and dinner with the poet; and a signed book.
This event received funding support from the Washington State Arts Commission; the Western States Arts Federation; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Tickets are available from island merchants; at www.artshum.org; or at the door. Call 842-7901 for more information.
