Dear Al-Mutanabbi Street

This collection supports and promotes awareness to the important mission and framework of the Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Coalition's focus on the lasting power of the written word and the arts in support of the free expression of ideas, the preservation of shared cultural spaces, and the importance of responding to attacks, both overt and subtle, on artists, writers, and academics working under oppressive regimes or in zones of conflict, despite the destruction of that literary/cultural content.

"I grew up in Beirut, Lebanon during the civil war, and when I was invited to participate in this project, my own memories rose up, illuminating the connection across time and space between myself and this event. I found myself looking backwards, re-experiencing the anguish of that time, and this became my response to the survivors of Al-Mutanabbi Street - through confronting my own pain, I was compelled to face theirs in a visceral, real way. Every collage in my book was made with al-Mutanabbi Street in mind, in silent empathy and condolence"--Artist's statement from the Book Arts at the Centre for Fine Print Research, UK website