Quiet Orient Riot

Quiet Orient Riot is a book of poetry that explores the complexities of motherhood, the politics of birth, and the experiences of women in the occupied Palestinian territory. It examines the relationship between maternity, violence, and resistance, and questions the ability of language to capture the experiences of precarious humanhood.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 80 pages
Publication date: 31 December 2020
Publisher: Omnidawn Publishing

Quiet Orient Riot delves into the intricate tapestry of motherhood, encompassing its mutinies and benevolences. It also serves as a testament to the realm of births and the intricate politics surrounding birth-regimes. Through the lens of a personal journey to bear a Palestinian child in the occupied Palestinian territory, the poems vividly evoke maternity as a multifaceted entity, oscillating between foreshadowing, tallying, and wielding as a weapon. These poems navigate the various filters imposed by liturgical command and demographic anxiety, shaping the maternal experience.

Maternity becomes a reality through contingent access to Israel's advanced fertility treatment infrastructure, yet it becomes paradoxical when it overlaps with Israel's 2009 assault on the Gaza Strip. This convergence of circumstances presents a complex puzzle, demanding a language capable of containing a body within a body, navigating emergencies, diminishment, and ultimately fostering resistance and bloom. Moreover, Quiet Orient Riot poses a profound inquiry: can a text embark on a quest for linguistic disorientation and reorientation, simultaneously? Can it traverse the delicate balance between detail and abstraction, envisioning a form of awareness akin to worship?

Unflinching in its exploration, Quiet Orient Riot embraces the term "worship" without hesitation. It also delves into the potential manifestations of such worship within the realm of poetry, paying homage to the "chirpy printed sound" of Palestine and the "forest of little justices." Notably, she has secured the prestigious 2019 Omnidawn 1st/2nd Poetry Book Contest, selected by the esteemed Dawn Lundy Martin.

Weight: 160g
Dimension: 152 x 228 x 9 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781632430830