The Olive Tree, an “international collection of art protesting the ongoing genocide of Palestinians,” is perhaps the most important publication I have been a part of. It is a collection that “seeks to center the art and writing of Palestinian artists and bolster their voices with the art of other communities and allies who stand with them in protest.” Here, I have the honor of sharing space with visual artists and poets alike, some of whom are in Gaza right now.
The editors write: “Where political rhetoric has failed, where news reporting agencies have faltered in delivering truth, we believe that art has a massive potential to capture and convey the plight of the Palestinian people to those who seem otherwise unbothered.”
My poem “Protest,” for a young Gazan woman named Aya, is included in the publication along with its backstory. I offer it both in solidarity and because I know what it means to Aya.
Read the full collection here.
Adeeba Shahid Talukder 