Category Archives: Palestinians

Oh, Jerusalem, in the snow…

Posted on February 17, 2021 by Taline Voskeritchian

To get to Jerusalem from Amman, you would have to get to the Jordanian security checkpoint at King Husseyn (Allenby) Bridge, cross the bridge itself (a mere few minutes of a bus ride the last time I did it!), pass … Continue reading →

Posted in Cities and towns, Letters and dispatches, Ordinary places, Palestinians | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

If you were not the rain…

Posted on December 9, 2017 by Taline Voskeritchian

“If you were not the rain, my love, then be the tree Saturated and bountiful, be the tree. And if you were not the tree, my love, then be the stone Saturated and moist,  be the stone. And if you … Continue reading →

Posted in Aging, well enough, Palestinians | Tagged , | Leave a comment

The Valise–a family memoir

Posted on May 23, 2017 by Taline Voskeritchian

      ~~”The Valise” was published in the fall 2011 issue of American Literary Review.  Since then, the publication has gone digital, and the essay is not available in print or on the ALR website.   You can read it … Continue reading →

Posted in Armenians, Cities and towns, Languages and readings, Ordinary places, Palestinians, Those we Love | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

John Berger, again…

Posted on January 3, 2017 by Taline Voskeritchian

~~I heard the news of John Berger’s death in the late afternoon, around tea and dried fruit, with friends.  There was a moment of silence, and then words of sadness, not so much about how brilliant of a thinker and … Continue reading →

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“The Shoes” by Nassir Ibrahim

Posted on May 16, 2016 by Taline Voskeritchian

~~Today, the Palestinians nakba begins its 69th year.  On this sad occasion, I am re-posting my translation of Nassir Ibrahim’s “The Shoes.” It appeared in Words Without Borders in 2006. ~~ The Shoes Perhaps it is merely a clever joke, … Continue reading →

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Mahmoud Darwish at 75

Posted on March 13, 2016 by Taline Voskeritchian

~~If Mahmoud Darwish were alive, he would be 74 years old today.  That is the best beginning for a blog about Darwish on the occasion of his day of birth.  As the platitude goes, Darwish lives in his poems, but … Continue reading →

Posted in Languages and readings, Palestinians, Rx for Maladies, Those we Love | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Gentle Wind of Ramallah

Posted on December 11, 2015 by Taline Voskeritchian

Last summer, Harvard Bookstore, in Cambridge, MA, sent out a call for submissions for an anthology of travel essays to be compiled, printed, and exhibited by the venerable bookstore.  My essay on Ramallah, Palestine, was chosen to be included in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Cities and towns, Palestinians, Passages and Homes, Rx for Maladies | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

May 15: The Nakba at 67

Posted on May 15, 2015 by Taline Voskeritchian

May 15 is the day Palestinians and supporters of Palestinian rights to self-determination commemorate the Nakba, or Catastrophe, which forced hundreds of thousands of the native population out of Mandatory Palestine.  Today, the Nakba is 67 years old.  On this … Continue reading →

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Re-reading Darwish on March 13

Posted on March 13, 2014 by Taline Voskeritchian

~~Mahmoud Darwish was born on this day–March 13–1941.  For all that he has given to us, his readers, for the monumental body of his work and its staying power, and for his enduring images and ideas, these lines.  The first … Continue reading →

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Reprise: Mandela for the world…

Posted on December 6, 2013 by Taline Voskeritchian

~~As the sad news of Nelson Mandela’s death spread around the world, I could not find one word–not even a word–about Mandela’s unwavering support for the Palestinian struggle for self-determination.  There was talk of how the anti-apartheid BDS movement inspired … Continue reading →

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