Book of the Week: Gaza

David Rodrigues tackles a millennium-old problem in his chapbook Gaza (self-published, 2009), and while he has no expectation that his 21 poems will solve the situation there, he offers them as moments of compassion and solidarity. His recurrent final line resounds like the chorus of a song, and through repetition gathers momentum, unifying the whole into a prophetic sequence.

You can read the entire book in the THF Digital Library.

Do you have a chapbook published 2009 or earlier you would like featured as a Book of the Week? Contact us for details.

Haiku featured in the Book of the Week Archive are selected by Jim Kacian, following a concept first explored by Tom Clausen, and are used with permission.

all of the Earth
leans towards the sea
in Gaza.

lips
are in a hurry
in Gaza.

written on the wall
God and a question mark
in Gaza.

a new shoe
lost on the street
in Gaza.

silence
is a warning
in Gaza.

weather forecast—
someone can read the future
in Gaza.