One of the United States' most prominent Arab artists appeared in Dubai on Wednesday night to a full house.
The daughter of Palestinian refugees, Brooklyn-bred Suheir Hammad, 31, made her name in the US as a new writer of poetry called slam poetry - spoken in a style reminiscent of hip-hop beats and music.
She has been praised by The New York Times as a leading poet, has published two books and has been interviewed by dozens of media outlets.
She recently completed a Broadway show before going to Palestine for a month-long visit. Tickets at Dubai's Five Green, where her poetry recitation was held, were booked weeks in advance, and the waiting list exceeded the size of the small venue.
Organisers were surprised by the turnout. An American who turned up for the show called her poetry "intense and moving".
This was Hammad's first poetry recital in Dubai, and in an interview with Gulf News, she described the city as a "mirage."
During her brief stint in Dubai, Hammad said her few weeks in Palestine were a "changing experience."
Although a political and human rights activist since her youth, Hammad said her experience had lessened her patience "for the argument that Israel is a haven for Holocaust survivors.
"All these conversations have nothing to do with what's actually happening there - it's just so superficial. There's no way I'm going to be quiet when somebody tells me it's not that bad."
The young poet compared the situation in the Palestinian refugee camps to black ghettos in the US. "I was in [refugee] camps seeing kids who have 60 to 70 per cent of their male family members in jail, that is very similar to the black ghetto community in the States."
Another similarity that surprised Hammad was the Arabic hip-hop created by disenfranchised Palestinian youths in Israel.
"I was surprised by the depth of it, the study of it, and that was a surprise for me. I mean, I'm not from Connecticut - I'm from Brooklyn - this is what I know, these are the movements ?and energy I know and to see it in Palestine and it's so organic. I'm excited to see what happens."
With the emphasis on politics in Hammad's poetry, she dismissed the notion that art was simply an aesthetic form or simply a tool to convey a political slogan.
"All our lives are political and those moments that are completely personal from one angle. I'm just not interested in art that doesn't speak to the holistic experience of life. That doesn't mean that I'm interested in slogans or pandering to a political line. I want to express the reality of the people's situations.
"Most people want to see their lives reflected intimately and personally but also want to see their stories told politically, not just read or viewed on TV or objectified or the labels they are burdened with. Poetry is the most direct art form. I think it's uncovering ? the human aspect of it."
The young Palestinian-American poet says she feels "privileged" to be in the media, to be a role model for younger girls searching "for a representation of themselves."
Hammad will soon be returning to the Arab world to perform in Amman, at the Okaz festival. Her poems can be read at www.suheirhammad.com
What I Will
I will not dance to your war drum. I will not lend my soul nor my bones to your war drum. I will not dance to your beating. I know that beat it is lifeless. I know intimately that skin you are hitting. It was alive once and hunted stolen stretched. I will not dance to your drummed up war. I will not pop spin break for you. I will not hate for you or even hate you. I will not kill for you. Especially I will not die for you. I will not mourn the dead with murder nor suicide. I will not side with you nor dance to bombs because everyone else is dancing. Everyone can be wrong. Life is a right not collateral or casual. I will not forget where I come from. I will craft my own drum. Gather my beloved near and our chanting will be dancing. Our humming will be drumming. I will not be played. I will not lend my name nor my rhythm to your beat. I will dance and resist and dance and persist and dance. This heartbeat is louder than death. Your war drum ain't louder than this breath.
- By Suheir Hammad
Gulf News
