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
Request for Recognition
Gaza has been under an intellectual embargo for decades. We ask members of the literary community to lend the strength of their voices to our authors. This zine has yet to receive words of recommendation. If you are an established author willing to read and recommend this zine, email us at coastallinespress@gmail.com to receive a digital or hard copy.
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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