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The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965-2010 by Lucille Clifton

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The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965-2010  by Lucille Clifton (edited by Kevin Young and Michael S. Glaser) brought all the feelings to the table. Clifton's poems have a sophisticated simplicity that lends beautifully to the complex issues she covers in this wide-ranging book of poems. Some of the more personal poems felt almost voyeuristic but left me wanting to know more. Clifton made me think and feel in poems that pulled me into the world from her point of view. As with any collection, some of Clifton's poems resonated with me more deeply than others. I enjoy poems that make me question what I think I know and challenge me to feel things beyond my experience. The Collected Poems of Lucille Clifton 1965-2010 certainly accomplished both. Currently Reading: The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine  by Ilan Pappe The January 6th Report  Rifqa  by Mohammed El-Kurd Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click on those links and make a purchase, I earn a co

The Joy of Writing Journal: Spark Your Creativity in 8 Minutes a Day Expanded Edition by Lisa Tener

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The Joy of Writing Journal: Spark Your Creativity in 8 Minutes a Day Expanded Edition by Lisa Tener was both better and worse than I expected. I bought this journal more as research in how it was designed than in thinking I needed the promised spark to my creativity; however, it did add a spark to my creativity most days. I found the 8 minutes a day more of an aspiration than a reality on several days, but I was okay with that. A few of the prompts didn't work that well for me, but others were great. The videos were nice but didn't really seem necessary. I quite enjoyed the meditations Tener provided links to. Tener offers creative prompts that allow the writer to mold them to their own needs. I did all the expanded exercises, so The Joy of Writing Journal took me a little over two months to complete. Overall, I would suggest The Joy of Writing for anyone who feels a lull in their creativity, enjoys writing prompts, or likes to journal. Currently Reading: The Ethnic Cleansin

A Land With a People: Palestinians and Jews Confront Zionism edited by Esther Farmer, Rosalind Petchesky, and Sarah Sills

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A Land With a People: Palestinians and Jews Confront Zionism: A collection of personal stories, history, poetry, and art  edited by Esther Farmer, Rosalind Petchesky, and Sarah Sills offers insight into the experiences of myriad people on their journey to understand zionism and confront it in their own ways. A Land With a People seeks to explain the history of Palestine and to remind the world there were people living in Palestine before Israel was created. Several of the essays also explore the difference in antisemitism and antizionism. The photographs and the artwork included in A Land With a People enhance the writings .  A Land With a People is an intense collection of beautiful writings that can be heart-wrenching at times and heart-warming at others and sometimes both at the same time. The vision of the myriad artists who contributed to A Land With a People gives me hope that people can find a way to create a better world.  Currently Reading: The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestin

The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D.

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The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel Van Der Kolk, M.D. felt like being in therapy and studying the therapy technique at the same time. At about the 20% mark, I think, I texted a psychologist friend and arranged a book discussion for when I finished it.  The research Van De Kolk has participated in over his career is fascinating as is the other research he gathered in this book. I repeatedly wished I'd found this research twenty or thirty years ago. That said, there were several times word choices that made me feel uncomfortable and earlier in my life likely would have been triggering for me. I'm certain the research has continued to evolve as research tends to do, but The Body Keeps the Score made me finally realize that all those times I felt like my body was betraying me was it having a normal reaction to trauma. Several of the life techniques discussed in the book, I discovered through a more painstaking and lonely process of

Reading Recommendations on Palestine

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Let's take a slight detour from my usual reviews.  Recently, I was compiling a list of books I've read about Palestine and Jerusalem to possibly share for the Corvallis Palestine Solidarity resource guide and realized I haven't reviewed most of those books or otherwise shared them. I decided to share a list of these books I've previously read complete with a few of my thoughts on each one. Future books will receive their own reviews like all the other books I read. In the meantime, if you're looking for more information on Palestine, Israel, and Jerusalem as well as the intersection of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism in the discussion, here are a few books to get you started. Nonfiction: The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 by Rashid Khalidi – A very informative and well-written book. See my full thoughts in my earlier review . The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine by Ilian Pappe - I just started this one, s

Erasing Palestine: Free Speech and Palestinian Freedom by Rebecca Ruth Gould

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Erasing Palestine: Free Speech and Palestinian Freedom by Rebecca Ruth Gould wasn't quite what I expected. I saw Gould in an interview and decided to read her book. Erasing Palestine starts out with an engaging story then goes into an academic discussion of antisemitism and the history of antisemitism while showing how antisemitism has been used as a cudgel to quiet the Palestinian voice and erase the history of the Palestinian people. Gould supports her individual points fairly well but sometimes it's easy to forget the overall point she's trying to make. I was a bit disappointed she didn't really explore how the legal definition of antisemitism came to differ so much from the dictionary definition. I felt this might have been an important part of discussing the erasure of Palestine. Some of her later points in the book about free speech in general weren't particularly convincing but also demonstrated what a complex issue freedom of speech can be. I, personally,

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 by Rashid Khalidi

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The Hundred Years' War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917-2017 by Rashid Khalidi is a must-read for anyone striving to better understand not only Palestine/Israel/Middle East history but the history of the world. Khalidi dives into the history of settler colonialism, war, antisemitism, anti-Arab sentiment, and the power brokers that make the deals to promote all of the above. The Hundred Years' War on Palestine traces the violence and the failed attempts at peace alongside the excuses for cruelty. He shares his own family's history in Palestine and as refugees including their attempts to negotiate for the Palestinian people over the years. Khalidi holds a large number of historical figures and powerful people accountable for their handling of Palestine using facts and documents that show how the decisions were made without giving any thought to the people who lived in Palestine at the time. It's a fascinating book that comes through mo