Their Borders, Our World: Building New Solidarities with Palestine

by Mahdi Sabbagh (editor)

From the organizers of the Palestine Festival of Literature, this anthology of essays connects Palestinian resistance with global freedom struggles against settler colonialism and calls on us to think more concretely about the practice of solidarity.

The Palestine Festival of Literature, or PalFest, was created in 2008 as “a cultural initiative committed to the creation of language and ideas for combating colonialism in the 21st century.” The annual festival brings authors from around the world to convene with readers, artists, writers, and activists in cities across Palestine for cross-pollination of radical art, ideas, and literature.

These efforts resulted in Beyond Frontiers, an anthology thoughtfully arranged and introduced by PalFest cocurator Mahdi Sabbagh. Contributors include writers and scholars such as Tareq Baconi and Dina Omar, architect Mabel O. Wilson, and filmmaker Omar Robert Hamilton, among others, each bringing their diverse intellectual and geographic backgrounds to the forefront. Each piece grapples with the How do we confront the need to take inevitable and often difficult political stances? How do we make sense of the destruction, uprooting, and pain that we witness? And given our seemingly impossible reality, how is mutuality constructed?

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Social Issues, History

249 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 6, 2024

Reviews

[Lynn wilcox · Rating 5 out of 5]

So interesting and informative, essays that are each very specific and give a new insight

[Joshua Turpin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a collection of essays by the collaborators who put together the Palestine Festival of Literature. Each author brings a unique perspective that is useful for framing Palestine and Palestinians. Each essay expands the conversation in new ways for people like myself who are relatively unfamiliar with Palestine-beyond-conflict.

[Jane Fudger · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book but unfortunately for me I have read many of the essays from other sources. However if you have not read a great detail about Palestine this is a good source of information regatding the lives of the Palestinians

[Apollo Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

gagged at how good these essays were. the range of topics the authors covered that all circled back to palestine regardless of their nationality or origin were just so reflective and engaging.
the care and consideration that went into every essay is so evident and i loved seeing what each new one would bring.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The verbiage was, for me, a touch academic. That being said, I took from this read a new, deeper understanding of all the ways in which settler colonialism, specifically in Palestine, infiltrates, poisons, and chokes every aspect of Palestinian life. For a white woman of European colonizer descent, this is an invaluable broadening of perspective, making this essential reading.

[Bran · Rating 5 out of 5]

gives deep insight into the genocide happening in Palestine. because I feel profoundly sad over this subject matter, I know it is my duty to figure out how I can help strengthen resources for black and brown communities near me.

[Sev · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting perspectives that explore palestine and its culture beyond the current genocide. the language used leans more towards an academic essay and as someone who already struggles with non-fiction, it was a bit of a difficult read. however, well worth your time.

[Cate]

Some resonated more than others...really loved Tareq Baconi's essay on abject and Ellen Van Neerven's on football was interesting. Generally reads very academically which I think is a drawback but I'm glad I read this.

[Javier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essays that greatly illustrate how solidarity knows no borders

[Celia Hutchison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can highly recommend this book. My review was published in Socialist Worker and can be found here:

https://socialistworker.co.uk/reviews...

[Whitman Cler · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW wow wow

[Anton Alexandrov · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a collection of unrelated essays, some resonated with me and some did not quite.

[Miles Xavier · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great collection of essays on Palestinian spatiality, dispossession, and solidarities.

[Kate]

free Palestine 🍉