The Fifth Shadow of the Sun
The Fifth Shadow of the Sun is a collection of poems written during the genocide in Gaza. While my soul was besieged by death from all sides, I saw poetry as our only means of immortalizing our lives. As I try to escape a reality riddled with destruction, we see that death is a plague that has infected even our vivid imaginations. Therefore, I share some of my poems, not only as a witness to the genocide, but also as a survivor of death.
Editions: English.
Letter to the Reader
Over the past two years, I have constantly faced death, lost family members and close friends, survived extreme situations, and experienced displacement. Under Israeli occupation, the life of a writer is especially at risk, since documenting events and speaking about society is a daily danger. After all this, and after two years of suspended high school studies, I was finally able to take my final exam, and now I have a real opportunity to pursue university education. But to make this possible, I need your support, as brothers and sisters in voice and in freedom. Thanks to your support, I will carry in my heart and in my words the voice of the oppressed and the absent. In short, I will be a witness to the dark and bloody time we are going through.
Sample text and illustration
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About the Author
Samar Al Ghussein is a Palestinian writer and poet from Gaza, interested in literature and all different forms of art. Her works focus on describing the beauty hidden in tragedy. Samar considers poetry a means to immortalize our lives. She participated in an anthology in Italy, and her works have been published in several magazines such as MPT Magazine, Al-Ayyam Al-Arabiya Magazine, and Arablit Magazine.
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