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On Ruins & Return
Poetry. ON RUINS & RETURN is Rachel Tzvia Back's second full-length collection and tracks the cycle of violence marking the lives of Palestinians and Israelis in the last intifadah (uprising).
"The past exists in layers of our present and perhaps nowhere more powerfully than in the place evoked in this beautiful and haunting collection of poems. Rachel Tzvia Back's passionate historical sense illuminates ways in which outer violence touches our deepest subconscious. From a complex of shared circumstances within the seemingly endless struggle between Israel and Palestine, she draws spiritual sustenance. When hope is in retreat and there seems to be 'nothing left / resembling the human / but soldiers on their knees / in the sand,' the austere beauty of this poetry remains."—Susan Howe
"The past exists in layers of our present and perhaps nowhere more powerfully than in the place evoked in this beautiful and haunting collection of poems. Rachel Tzvia Back's passionate historical sense illuminates ways in which outer violence touches our deepest subconscious. From a complex of shared circumstances within the seemingly endless struggle between Israel and Palestine, she draws spiritual sustenance. When hope is in retreat and there seems to be 'nothing left / resembling the human / but soldiers on their knees / in the sand,' the austere beauty of this poetry remains."—Susan Howe
104 pages, Paperback
First published May 15, 2007
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June 8, 2020
After reading Back's collection Azimuth, didn't even think I can possibly love a collection of poems more than I already love her Azimuth. Yet, I don't like to compare poetry. Back once said that she always felt as though her own writing is a protest, which consists of "the unflinching gaze of the texts, in the refusal to look away, in the insistence that the reader looks too."
Each time, I am AMAZED to realize how much knowledge this woman holds. And, most importantly, I am stunned by her compassion. Thanks to her I gained more knowledge, wisdom and, I would like to believe, kindness, compassion and understanding. The title of this collection, On Ruins & Return, illustrates perfectly what this collection is all about. We all live on ruins, ruins of a certain religion, ruins of a certain landscape, we always "come back," we construct our lives on those ruins and build new lives. Rachel did it again. Her insistence is worthwhile; we, her readers, cannot look away after reading this collection. Some of the poems are hard to digest, as they deal with serious matters. Yet, once again, if you read closely, you feel Back's kindness and compassion, which transforms you into a better human being. The structure of the poems is beyond amazing as well. Back sheds new light on my terrain and for that, I am forever grateful.
Each time, I am AMAZED to realize how much knowledge this woman holds. And, most importantly, I am stunned by her compassion. Thanks to her I gained more knowledge, wisdom and, I would like to believe, kindness, compassion and understanding. The title of this collection, On Ruins & Return, illustrates perfectly what this collection is all about. We all live on ruins, ruins of a certain religion, ruins of a certain landscape, we always "come back," we construct our lives on those ruins and build new lives. Rachel did it again. Her insistence is worthwhile; we, her readers, cannot look away after reading this collection. Some of the poems are hard to digest, as they deal with serious matters. Yet, once again, if you read closely, you feel Back's kindness and compassion, which transforms you into a better human being. The structure of the poems is beyond amazing as well. Back sheds new light on my terrain and for that, I am forever grateful.
Displaying 1 of 1 review