Transnational Series: Ammiel Alcalay

Join the for an in-store event with poet, novelist, translator, essayist, critic, and scholar Ammiel Alcalay to read from and honor the release of CONTROLLED DEMOLITION as well as some of his other recent projects like his co-translation of Nasser Rabah’s Gaza: The Poem Said Its Piece.

CONTROLLED DEMOLITION: a work in four books combines three of Ammiel Alcalay’s previously published poetic texts—Scrapmetal (2007), the cairo notebooks (1993), and from the warring factions (2002)—with a new work, “Controlled Demolition.” Unlike most writing categorized as “documentary” poetry, here the author and his process are constant reference points, serving as a prism to refract changes over time and circumstance in what becomes a mix of memoir, poetry, auto-critique, prose narrative, history, and investigative journalism by other means.

“The notion of follow the person is a constant in Alcalay’s poetics. The implication is this: the energy one artist can invest in really knowing the mind, commitments, affections, and beliefs of a progenitor or a kindred who is simply out of reach—too far away or too long-dead—is a conjuring agent, a potential that, once mobilized in earnest, will in some way become actual. This auto-excavation of embodied cultural and literary lineages is a through-line in Alcalay’s oeuvre, and it grounds the four books gathered in this collection, which were borne out of real-life interactions with peoples and places. The son of Sephardic Jews who immigrated from the former Yugoslavia to the US as refugees after WWII, Alcalay was influenced by his upbringing in Boston in the ‘60s and ‘70s, which immersed him in countercultural movements protesting the Vietnam War and de-facto racial segregation. He began writing in the mid-‘70s while living between Boston, Gloucester, Cape Cod, and New York City. Attending City College in Harlem, he worked in construction, auto-repair, trucking, house painting, and various other occupations, which placed him alongside a diverse array of mentors who imparted wisdom on subjects ranging from ancient languages to brick masonry to house demolition. By grounding poetry’s materials and meanings in everyday life, Alcalay re-evaluates knowledge as such, what it is and what it can be, and sets the record straight on who can access and contribute to it.” —from the Introduction

Poet, novelist, translator, essayist, critic, and scholar Ammiel Alcalay’s latest books are CONTROLLED DEMOLITION: a work in four books, his co-translation of Nasser Rabah’s Gaza: The Poem Said Its Piece, and the forthcoming Follow the Person: Archival Encounters. In 2017, he received an American Book Award from the Before Columbus Foundation for his work as founder and General Editor of Lost & Found: The CUNY Poetics Document Initiative; he is a Distinguished Professor at Queens College and the CUNY Graduate Center.

The Transnational Literature Series at Brookline Booksmith

The Transnational Series focuses on stories of migration, the intersection of politics and literature, and works in translation and is supported by the independent bookstore Brookline Booksmith. Subscribe to the Transnational Series newsletter for information on upcoming events, book recommendations, and more.

What You Need to Know to Attend

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Livestream!

Barring technical difficulty, this event will be livestreamed to our store YouTube channel.

Event Accesibility

This event will take place at street level. If possible, the event will be livestreamed to YouTube. ASL interpretation may be provided (based on the availability of interpreters) but must be requested at least 2 weeks in advance of the event. Seats are limited. Please email dGlja2V0aW5nIHwgYnJvb2tsaW5lYm9va3NtaXRoICEgY29t as soon as possible if you require ASL interpretation, guaranteed seating, or other accommodations. We will do our best to serve your needs!

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING COVID & IN-PERSON EVENTS:

Please note that any Brookline Booksmith in-person event may be canceled by the bookstore, publisher, or author based on concerns about health and safety around the time of the event. Wherever possible, any in-person appearance canceled due to COVID will be moved to the Brookline Booksmith Zoom as a Webinar at the same date and time, and all tickets & registrations will be transferred to the online event. Book signing details may change. Refunds may be requested in the case of a virtual pivot or event cancelation.

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