Böcker av D. Dina Friedman

"Whatever else it may be, poetry is foremost a witnessing, and D. Dina Friedman is our conscience and guide as she transports us to the border-physically and poetically-so we can better understand the pain and struggle that keeps "the machinery of the world running," and what drives a person to become so desperate that "he might send his daughter over the bridge alone to face the guards." How is it that we have become "people who love each other / hating the people across the river, who love each other." In deceptively plain-spoken language that reaches deep into what it means to be human, Dina uses her words to sharpen our senses and focus our attention. But if we listen closely, we will also find a necessary courage in "a child's pair of striped overalls hanging on barbed wires," or even in "a makeshift tent / called school," where hope hides in every heart "soft as the young cat / stretched luxurious across the bed," or a "puff / of milkweed riding the wave of the wind." Dina's words burst forth like a "bashful baby suddenly smiling." She teaches us, with humor, horror, love, and concentration what it means to truly see and listen to those in need. Here in Sanctuary-Whirling is a beautiful and important book of poetry." -Richard Michelson, National Jewish Book Award Winner, author of Sleeping As Fast As I Can "D. Dina Friedman's revelatory book captures the essence of what it means to be and remain human in times of tyranny. This book is a meditation tool for both seeker and cynic." -Magdalena Gómez, Poet Laureate of Springfield, MA (2019-2022); author of Mi'ja, a memoir noir

With sensitivity and wit, Friedman creates a tableau of characters, scenery, sounds, smells, and tastes as varied as those who have claimed or seek to claim a home within our borders.In this compelling collection of stories, we find immigrants everywhere: in the poignant and doomed relationships between the documented and undocumented; in a squalid encampment by the Rio Grande, where a young mother sends her daughter over the bridge to the U.S. alone; in the heart of multicultural New York, where a Jewish woman seeks a loan from a Muslim bank manager to fund her cancer treatment; and in a New England home, where bats in the attic are threatening the last vestiges of stability for a divorced and desperate middle-aged woman and her twenty-something Chinese American tenant.These stories explore the deep ambiguities in how we perceive each other. Readers will grow to love Friedman's characters, despite their flaws, as they grapple toward a deeper caring for the world around them.