The Palestinian Voice Through Poetry
Orelia Oiknine, News Editor for The Triton
In light of the Israel-Hamas War beginning on October 7, 2023, and the dissolution of UC San Diego’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment on May 6, 2024, many faculty members and students have felt silenced and disempowered by UCSD’s administration. As such, professors Gary Fields and Adam Aron began organizing weekly poetry readings on Library Walk, aiming to raise awareness and create an outlet for those struggling with the realities of the ongoing conflict.
Professors Gary Fields and Adam Aron are the two main coordinators for these poetry readings. Their inspiration was sparked last spring, when UCSD called for the disassembling of the encampment students and faculty members created on Library Walk. Since then, the university drafted a document with a plethora of rules regarding free speech, freedom of expression, and academic freedom. Fields referred to the document as “draconian,” telling The Triton, “We, and students, became aware of these regulations and got very, very scared. And I thought that it was imperative that we not lose our critical voice in terms of what the university should be, which is a free and open space for discussion about important issues of the day.”
As such, Fields and Aron sought to create a space where individuals can express their grievances regarding the war without their voices being suppressed by the administration. Faculty members read poetry by Palestinian authors, and anyone can attend. Tuesday, November 19th was the last one for the Fall quarter and included readings of We Deserve a Better Death by Mosab Abu Toha and The Malady and the Cure by Ibn Qayyim.
A Road for Loss by Maya Abu Al-Hayyat was also read at the final Fall reading. In it, Al-Hayyat writes, “My children will grow, their questions will multiply,” a powerful statement on the war in Gaza. The poems performed extended beyond the Palestinian desperation for a better future, and delved deeper into the more day-to-day aspects of the war many fail to consider. The poems included children being afraid of spider webs and teenagers completing college applications, and how these facets of life that so many take for granted have become forgotten, faraway dreams for the Palestinian people.
Fields went on to describe the disconnect between his passion for advocacy in the Middle East and being employed by the University. He concentrated on the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement, then moved on to cover the encampment movement. As a tenured professor, he shares that he does not feel too threatened. However, he has been the recipient of backlash from colleagues, particularly due to his active role in the encampment. Fields also teaches a course in the Communications Department called Dissent, Protest, and Social Movements, which focuses on Palestine.
Nonetheless, Fields believes that the reward of allowing students to use their voice to speak up regarding an issue that is of “paramount concern” to them is worth whatever backlash he may be confronted with.
Fields and Aron hope to provide an amplified voice for Palestinians through an appreciation and cognizance of the Palestinian people. During his speech, Fields stated he wanted to share, “Names like Fadwa Tulkan and Mahmoud Darwish are known not just in Palestine and the Middle East but known throughout the world. So, we wanted to highlight that as a way of speaking about the Middle East, speaking about Palestine. Through the voice of these poets, and through our own voices.”
Fields and Aron plan to continue these poetry readings in the Winter quarter, and hope to refine and expand them. They will include more Arabic speakers so they can read the poems synchronously with the English speakers. UCSD administration has recently enacted new rules on sound systems in addition to the new rules regarding protests and encampments, but Fields told The Triton that they refuse to be intimidated and will obtain more speaker equipment.
Fields urged anyone who wants to get involved in this to contact either himself or Adam via their emails: adamaron07@icloud.com and gfields@ucsd.edu.
Orelia Oiknine is the News Editor & Staff Writer at The Triton
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