Moon Beams #25 - Maya Salameh
“I think in the past two years writers have learned a lot about what complicity and allyship look like in the everyday, for us as irrevocably American writers. What responsibilities accompany the privileges of our blue passport?” Maya Salameh asked after we began talking about the growing front for Palestine that has grown across the contemporary poetry space and beyond in our chat on episode #25 of “Moon Beams.”
“None of my poetry will ever be worth me sacrificing my moral beliefs on the issue of Palestine. I think I’ve been able to materially live my values, especially in my artistic career, around this issue, and seeing others do the same has been really inspiring. I am indebted to the courageous writers whose example I follow and learn from."
The Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund and The Sameer Project have been fruitful places for Maya to contribute materially in ways that “move beyond passive refusal and boycotts” and more towards “active contribution.”
We discussed the above and much more in one of the most impactful and important conversations I am honored to share through my channels. Maya's north star poet inspirations include: Etel Adnan, Safia Elhillo, George Abraham, Khadijah Queen, Franny Choi, Vanessa Angelica Villarreal, Hala Alyan, and Fady Joudah. She adores the Atab poets of the last century as well: Adonis, Maram Al-Massri, and Nizar Qabbani, among others. She credits Banah El Ghadbanah's collection La Syrena: Visions of a Syrian Mermaid from Space as encouraging her interest in investigating Indigenous Syrian folklore, including the mermaid myth of Atargatis.
“As someone who is obsessed with cryptids and creatures, I also think I’ve enjoyed subverting the myth of the mermaid as this “Ariel” creature, and more as a deadly, monstrous, lush, apex predator," said Maya as we talked about the roots of her upcoming third book, Mermaid Theory, due out in April by Haymarket Books.
I am grateful for everything Maya does as a poet and activist for Palestine, and look forward to seeing how she and others continue to grow practical support and love at a time that needs much more of both.
