The New Anthology of American Poetry: Vol. III: Postmodernisms 1950-Present

ELMAZ ABINADER

Ø Elmaz Abinader 468 1. Scenes from the Bayeux Tapestry, which provides a contemporary account of William of Normandy’s quest for the English throne, his decisive victory at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, and his subsequent coronation at Westminster Abbey. The tapestry was stitched by seamstresses in Normandy and displayed annually in the cathedral in the Norman town of Bayeux. 2. That is, in the Bayeux Tapestry. Blackness of headlines in the daily news, And buildings blown away from flights of stairs All over Europe, thanks in empty squares, The burning baby carriages of Jews. Behind thin glass, a print hangs on the wall, A detail from the Bayeux Tapestry. As ignorant women gabbled incessantly, Their red, sore hands stitched crudely to recall Forests of ships, the star with streaming hair, God at Westminster blessing the devout,1 They jabbed their thousand needles in and out, Sometimes too busy talking to repair The small mistakes; now the centuries of grease And smoke that stained it, and the blind white moths And grinning worm that spiraled through the cloth, Say death alone makes life a masterpiece. There2 William of Normandy remounts his horse A fourth time, four times desperate to drive Off rumors of his death. His sword is drawn. He swivels and lifts his visor up and roars, Look at me well! For I am still alive! Your glasses, lying on the desk, look on. 1982 ELMAZ ABINADER b. 1954 Elmaz abinader is a major poet, playwright, performer, and activist who currently lives and works in Oakland, California. In her work, she focuses on bringing Islamic and Christian cultures together, often focusing on the values of compassion, equity, and respect for the earth. While her poems are often a In the Country of My Dreams Ø 469 political intervention, they also address the divisions between private and public lives. Abinader won a PEN Award for her first volume of poetry, In the Country of My Dreams, and her book Children of the Roojme was the first memoir about Arab Americans to be published by a major press in the United States. In addition , she has written and performed plays and monologues such as Country of Origin, The Torture Quartet, and Voice from the Siege, accompanied by music by Tony Khalife. Abinader was born and raised in a Lebanese family and community in the coal mining region near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She earned her B.A. in writing from the University of Pittsburgh, her M.F.A. in poetry from Columbia University , and her Ph.D. in fiction from the University of Nebraska. While living in New York City, she taught and also worked in advertising. She is presently W. M. Keck Foundation Professor at Mills College in Oakland, California. Abinader cofounded and works for the Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation , a workshop for writers of color held on the campus of the University of San Francisco. In addition to a PEN award, she has also received a Schweitzer Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities, two Drammies (Oregon Drama Critics Award), and a Goldies Award for Literature. further reading Elmaz Abinader. Children of the Roojme: A Family’s Journey from Lebanon. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1997. — — — —. In the Country of My Dreams. New York: Sufi Warrior Publishing, 1999. In the Country of My Dreams For Marcel Khalife and Khalil Gibran1 The tales my mother and father told me are true: the apricots are as big as oranges and bright as the sun. Grapes stay on the vine from the wealth of wine already inside them. The figs burst as you walk through the groves, begging for you to hold one and admire the milk cracking their skin. In the country of my dreams, my sixth grade geography book explained: Long haired sheep 1. Marcel Khalife (b. 1950) is a Lebanese composer, singer, and oud player who is a UNESCO Artist for Peace. Khalil Gibran (1883–1931) was a Lebanese-American poet and author of The Prophet (1920). One of the first Arab-American poets, he was a founder of the Arab Renaissance and of modern Arabic literature. Ø Elmaz Abinader 470 2. Mountain in the Mount Lebanon Range, which bisects Lebanon on a north–south axis, dividing the port city of Beirut to the east from the Bekaa Valley to the west. 3. Valley in Lebanon, source of agricultural products. 4. Religious community located primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and...