Stills

Arab American Writing

by Samuel Hazo

When Louise, a young film producer, takes on the job of documenting the life of boy wonder photojournalist Bede Baxter, he has been missing in Lebanon for three months and is presumed dead. When she visits his house and puts herself in the midst of his most private concerns, she imagines she is in love with his talent, his sometimes cold, sometimes sensitive, reporter's soul. That is, until the unexpected happens. The scene is then set for an unusual relationship, as Louise shifts the focus of her documentary from Baxter's life to his continued search for the "perfect" photo. In reaching for that elusive, career making picture, Baxter is willing to risk his life—and, it soon becomes clear—Louise's as well.

181 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1989

About the author

Samuel Hazo is the director of the International Poetry Forum in Pittsburgh, where he is also McAnulty Distinguished Professor of English Emeritus at Duquesne University. His books include The Rest Is Prose, As They Sail, Stills, and This Part of the World, the latter two published by Syracuse University Press. His translations include Nadia Tueni’s Lebanon: Twenty Poems for One Love

Reviews

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book at Eljay's Bookstore in Dormont. It is always a bit difficult to read a book written by someone you know. In this book, I could hear distinctly Samuel Hazo's voice. Though Stills is a novel, Hazo's poet voice come through. Stills is the story of a photographer who does much of his work in Lebanon.

"..but she always moved quickly on to the next game, telling him in passing that she wished someone would invent a game where victory could be shared equally as in lovemaking." (74)