Rest in My Shade – A Poem about Roots

“Rest in My Shade: A Poem About Roots by Nora Lester Murad and Danna Masad is a beautifully crafted story of the Palestinian ordeal as understood through a primary metaphor of the olive tree, so bound up with Palestinian identity, both because of the rootedness to place of olive trees and the life nurturing qualities of olive oil. The book is a brilliant collaboration between its authors and a group of world class Palestinian painters. The lyric words of the text give clear meanings to the vibrant beauty of the visual art. In its few pages the tragedy and the transcendence of the Palestinian narrative are both memorably vivified. You will never regret having this book in your possession.”
— Richard Falk, Milbank Professor of International Law Emeritus, Princeton University

“I celebrate this wondrous book. It illumines the world as olive oil might, regardless of the fire that’s touched it. Palestine and Palestinians continue to produce enduring imaginative art. They’re here to stay.”
— Fady Joudah, author of Footnotes in the Order of Disappearance

“Poetry and art, to paraphrase Jonathan Bate, are the song of the earth. These exquisite canvases and poetic commentary are the songs of uprooting of the people and olive trees from the earth of Palestine, and their enduring resistance. They resonate with the work of other indigenous eco-artists whose land and animals have been the unfortunate targets of colonial greed.”
— Sharif S. Elmusa, author of Flawed Landscape

“Rest in My Shade is a universal story. As elegant as the rolling hills of the countryside that is its backdrop, as startling as the violent upheaval that is the refugee experience, it is truly a story of all of us.”
— Saul Takahashi, Former Deputy Head of Office, occupied Palestinian territory office, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

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