Sitt Marie Rose by Etel Adnan

The Unseen Book Club

Sitt Marie Rose, by Lebanese-American poet-painter Etal Adnan (1925-2021?), is a searing, vibrant statement on the paradoxes of a society erupting into violence. Published in 1978, it is an intimate depiction of the earliest days of the Lebanese Civil War through the lens of one (or two) young, female narrators as active witnesses. Violence and love clash across lines of class, sectarian and religious identity, political solidarities, nationalism and gender.

We are joined by poet and friend, Nora Treatbaby. We attempt to anchor our discussion in a rough-cut survey of the conflict, and are quickly thwarted by its complexity. Nora challenges us on collapsing the vibrancy of the poetic into mere contextual or historical readings. We discuss the psychology of fascism, the politics of language, and the possibilities of love against the tragedy of history.

Revolution and Disenchantment: Arab Marxism and the Binds of Emancipation, by Fadi A. Bardawil: https://www.dukeupress.edu/revolution-and-disenchantment

Middle East Research and Information Project (MERIP): https://merip.org/2021/10/capturing-the-complexity-of-lebanons-civil-war-and-its-legacies/

Beirut: War Generation (1989) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-15KBICWiQ

Nora Treatbaby´s first full-length publication Our Air is forthcoming through Nightboat Press https://nightboat.org/nightboat-poetry-prize-winners/

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Music by ex-official: https://exofficialexo.bandcamp.com/
Art by Eli Liebman: https://elimack.weebly.com/