The ‘Untranslatable Palestinian Flesh’
What do we owe to language in times of unimaginable violence? Poets linked to both Palestine and Texas help show us the way.
Poetry
Poem: Drought
We sit by the window of the nursing home where her face can feel the sun.
Naomi Shihab Nye: Life As a Palestinian-American Poet
"Palestinians are all haunted. We’re haunted by what used to be, what could have been."
Poem: From There to Here
A silhouette, stationed at his Dallas valet stand awaiting the healthy, the wealthy, the privileged, the favored.
Poem: West Texas Sage
I stop to relish the sudden chill, feel retreating thunder rumbling my bones, hear breezes sliding over damp sand, greedy for its moisture.
Poem: The Pantoum
The winning poem in the “What Juneteenth Means (To Me)” contest organized by Cyrus Cassells, 2021-22 Texas poet laureate.
Poem: A Prayer to Georgia O’Keeffe
I want to live in the negative space of your landscapes
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Deep in the Hearts of Children: 50 Years of Public Poetry
Our outgoing Poetry Editor reflects on decades of artistic expression and education in the Lone Star State.
Poem: At the Lindale, Texas Post Office, I Ask for a Book of Stamps
Do you want flags, cowboys, or cowboy hats? A poem by Robin Turner and a message from outgoing TXO poetry editor Naomi Shihab Nye.
The Texas Observer Lives!
After a terrifying near-death experience, we live to muckrake another day.