Welcome to another Tuesday with TED. Today we’re watching poet Suheir Hammad perform two spine-tingling spoken-word pieces: What I Will and break (clustered) — meditations on war and peace, on women and power. She blends the stories and sounds of her Palestinian-American heritage with the vibrant language of Brooklyn to create a passionately modern voice.
Hammad is the author of breaking poems, recipient of a 2009 American Book Award and the Arab American Book award for Poetry 2009. Her other books are ZaatarDiva; Born Palestinian, Born Black; and Drops of This Story. Her work has been widely anthologized and also adapted for theater. Her produced plays include Blood Trinity and breaking letter(s), and she wrote the libretto for the multimedia performance Re-Orientalism. An original writer and performer in the Tony-winning Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Jam on Broadway, Hammad appears in the 2008 Cannes Film Festival Official Selection Salt of This Sea.
This is a short but powerful TEDTalk.
My favorite line: “Do not fear what has blown up. If you must, fear the unexploded.” What was your favorite?
Until next time,
Cynthia Patton
