Susie Anderson
Staff Writer
When Palestinian American author Naomi Shihab Nye returns to Chautauqua Institution for a conversation with poet E. Ethelbert Miller, she will embrace a community that presents democracy at its finest.
“Chautauqua is the ultimate venue of civilization because it’s centered around ideas,” she said. “It’s people getting together and not trying to seize power or fight off other ideas, but to learn from them.”
Nye and Miller will take to the podium at 3:30 p.m. today in the Hall of Philosophy to present their respective Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle selections — The Tiny Journalist and the little book of e — and discuss the power of language to overcome boundaries and explore humanity in a week themed “The Middle East: The Gulf States’ Emerging Influence.”
Nye considers herself old-fashioned. She prefers going into the bank than using ATMs and refuses to download Venmo. Only recently did she create a Facebook account, which resulted in the creation of her collection The Tiny Journalist.
“I was at a lecture by a Palestinian speaker who made a slight reference to Janna Ayyad and what she was doing,” Nye said, “The speaker said, ‘Look, this is a child — 7 years old — and she is documenting what is happening with her mother’s phone, and you can see it for yourself on Facebook.’ And I thought, ‘Oh dear, I guess I better go and try out Facebook.’ ”
Nye found the profile of Janna, a girl who began recording anti-occupation protests at age 7 and has since risen to fame as a leading journalist covering life in Palestine. Nye recognized the locations in Janna’s videos as nearby her grandmother’s village.
Nye considers herself a “wandering poet.” She has spent 40 years traveling across the country and world and has written more than 30 volumes of poetry, essays and fiction for adults and children. Born to a Palestinian father and American mother, Nye draws from Palestinian American heritage to attest to shared humanity through her work.
“Palestine was not this myth or news story — it was where half my family was,” Nye said.
In The Tiny Journalist, Nye takes inspiration from Janna’s story and intertwines it with her own memories of living in Palestine as a teenager, the experiences of her father, who was the first in his family to emigrate from Palestine.
“I started feeling like I was obliged to write as a voice trying to connect generations — what my grandmother had been through, my father, my own generation and Janna’s generation,” Nye said.
Nye commits herself in the collection to the poet’s job as a witness.
“We’re not politicians, we’re not running for office, but we experience things,” Nye said. “… We’re usually pretty sensitive to people’s stories that we have firsthand knowledge of and stories we simply observe from afar.”
In her collection, Nye translates the Palestinian and Palestinian American experience to audiences in a lyrical blend of voices and perspectives. When capturing shared humanity through poetry, Nye takes inspiration from young writers such as Janna.
“Young people are the ones that will make these brazen claims for a better future that we all could hope for,” Nye said.
While sharing human experience is a universal effort of every author, Nye said, it is one she thinks that Miller has mastered.
“I think he’s always had that gift of writing in such a humane way,” Nye said, “You are able to imagine a much deeper, more loving understanding of other experiences in his work, even if it is not your own experience.”
Miller is a literary activist and author of two memoirs, several poetry collections and hosts a radio and television show. In the little book of e, Miller presents the African American experience in a series of haikus that are also translated into Hebrew. An amalgamation of culture and creativity, the collection’s form, cover art and translation is a product of the literary community, Miller said.
“This book is a couple of friends coming together. … I’m always trying to bring communities together,” Miller said.
The project started with a friend Miller met while working as a Fulbright scholar in Israel — Joanna Chen. Thousands of miles of separation did not stop the poets from calling to collaborate and exchange poems. When Miller brought the project to Chen, she connected him with a student of hers, Rafi Ellenson.
In collaboration with Miller, Ellenson translated the haikus into Hebrew. While the pair never met in person, they exchanged ideas over Zoom and workshopped meaning versus sound versus structure. As with any collaborative project, Miller said he wanted to respect Ellenson’s work as a poet and translator.
“I told Rafi, … ‘You don’t have to be exact, but can you convey what I am trying to say in Hebrew?’ ” he asked.
The task was not an easy one given the rigid haiku structure and layered references and themes of the African American experience. However, through open communication and collaboration, Miller prioritized a shared love of language while working with Ellenson.
“Once you have an interest and love of poetry, writing and language, there are no borders around it,” Miller said.
In conversation with Nye, Miller wants to “look at our friendship in terms of our work.” Miller said. He said that he plans on reading from the “Gaza Suite,” 25 haikus dedicated to his Palestinian friends. For Miller, the core of poetry arises from establishing common ground.
“All you have to do as an artist is ask, ‘Am I willing to listen to somebody else?’ If we can’t listen to one another and find common ground, that is going to be a problem,” Miller said.
In a conversation between two activists, artists and friends, Miller and Nye will share the power of poetry to create community and establish common ground.
“I think art does a bigger job than some people give it credit for,” Nye said. “… It does everything for us if we allow it to.”
