December 22, 2023

Poems for Palestine — Christmas joy must birth solidarity

35 minutes

Listen to — or read along in the episode transcript — Jewish, Christian, and Muslim poems by Palestinians and their supporters. Poetry empowers us to imagine liberation that we can then work towards, together.

Some pieces explore the Nativity story through this lens: Christmas joy must break bread with pain, birthing solidarity with all oppressed peoples.

Talking Points:

(0:00) Ross Gay on mixing pain and joy to birth solidarity; poetry as resistance

(7:11) Aurora Levins Morales on the history of antisemitism + envisioning solidarity & interdependence in “Red Sea”

(12:30) Najah Hussein Musa dispelling anti-Palestinian myths in “Bethlehem”

(14:42) Avery Arden — “Christ is Barred from Bethlehem”

(17:48) Basman Derawi — memorializing a fun-loving friend killed in an airstrike in ”His Name Was Essa”

(19:52) Hiba Abu Nada, killed in an airstrike, longs for safety in “I Grant You Refuge”

(23:30) Rev. Munther Isaac & Avery Arden — Christ born into rubble

(28:10) Refaat Alareer & Ibtisam Barakat — poetry helps us imagine the liberation we can then fight for

(33:36) Avery Arden & Ainsley Herrick — “O Come O Come Emmanuel” rewritten for Palestine’s plight

Visit the episode transcript for all links to the various poems; here are some key resources:

Rev. Munther Isaac's sermon "God Is under the Rubble in Gaza"

Aurora Levins Morales' article "Latin@s, Israel and Palestine: Understanding Antisemitism"

Fady Joudah's article "A Palestinian Meditation in a Time of Annihilation"

The "We Are Not Numbers" project

Refaat Alareer's lecture on poetry

For shareable versions of my poems / song, visit binarybreakingworship.com.

This show's theme song is "Aetherium" by Leah Horn.

Find more episodes & resources at blessedarethebinarybreakers.com.

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By Avery Arden

4.8

1616 ratings