During one of our breaks during my Journaling class, we went
down the hall and walked through an exhibit called "Al~Mutanabbi Street
Starts Here.” This is an exhibition of
artists' books, broadsides, prints and poetry created in honor of Baghdad's
beloved district of booksellers, publishers and literary cafes, which was devastated
by a car bombing in 2007. We were told to jot down what struck us, to use as
writing prompts later. Here is what I
wrote when we returned to our classroom.
I like the image of rebinding. The image of all those books and lives
destroyed in one violent moment is stuck in my mind. What can be salvaged? What is worth the effort? “Whatever has come apart can be reassembled,
healed.” Is that true of everything? It is a statement of hope. Without it we only have despair. What’s involved in rebinding? Does a life torn apart come back
together? It seems that the “book” of a
life torn apart might come back together with pages reassembled in a different
order. Perhaps tape or glue will be
needed. Maybe new pages will
appear. I see a new cover, maybe with
flowers and lots of color. It becomes a
new book, ready to open.
Written
on 2/18/2016
