Eating the Archive
by Yousif M. Qasmiyeh offers a stunning portrait of life in the Baddawi refugee camp in Lebanon, where Qasmiyeh was born. The poems examine even the harshest aspects of the camp with tenderness, pondering existential questions about time, family, language and identity. A mother's blurry photograph, a father's sharpened knife, blood stirred into watery lentils and other glimpses into Qasmiyeh's upbringing enrich this raw and profound collection.