Axe Handles

Axe Handles
These are poems about language—language as the preeminent manifestation of culture

This is a collection of discovery, of insight, and of vision. These poems see the roots of community in the family, and the roots of culture and government in the community.
“In making the handle of an axe by cutting wood with an axe the model is indeed near at hand.” In exploring this axiom of Lu Ji’s, Gary Snyder continues:

I am an axe
And my son a handle, soon
To be shaping again, model
And tool, craft of culture,
How we go on.

Formally, the 71 poems in Axe Handles range from lyrics to riddles to narratives. The collection is divided into three parts, called “Loops,” “Little Songs for Gaia,” and “Nets,” each containing poems of disciplined clarity. Gary Snyder knows well the great power of silence in a poem, silence that allows the mind space enough to discover the magic of song.

“Axe Handles presents poems that reflect a fine balance between physical reality and inner insight. Snyder emphasizes natural cycles, sees the oneness of things rather than their separateness, observes directly without pretense or arrogance . . . His sense of the history of land and cultures and his ability to write as both the Worker and the Thinker create a fertile whole.”—Los Angeles Times Book Review

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Any Hope with the new Palestinian Authorities ? Last month was very authoritative in the history of Palestinians. For the eldest time a governance is baccilar from more than one unshared partizan. I cant know whether this is a sign of 'maturity' or a mere bidding of the Arab and internationalistic comradeship. comradeship new Palestinian governance, which includes in its delegacy more than 95 % of the Palestinian voters has so many homegrown and internationalist duties. Forming this 1 authorities itself is the biggest achievement on the homegrown Palestinian horizontal. Internationally, this governance is awaited to conduct like governments and be meshed in the planetary comradeship.comradeship is such a historic import where the decisions of this governance, IF ANY, will symbolize , persumbly, the real Palestinian demands and hopes. The USA and EU will certainly have no tasteful but to patronage this authorities.authorities are preciously moments for us ( Palestinians ) now to retrieve the planetary trustfulness and recover our ikon as a " citizenry " struggling for their exemption and independency. independency cant recollect of any punter chances for us as Palestinians if we miss this very worthful accidental. This mightiness be the best time for us to DO many things. Yisrael is the weakest part here, no dubiousness.dubiousness are all notwithstanding waiting what will this governance come up with. At the poorest estimations this authorities is anticipated to do just Nil. If it succeeded in maintaining itself and forming fated positions that symbolize all Palestinians then this would be an achievement itself.We , and everyone, is observation . Lets hope that the voices of grounds from indoors the governing predominate..... predominate by Osaid Rasheed @ 5:32 PM 4 comments links to this post Friday, November 24, 2006 Killing "for land" People are beingness killed everyday and it seems that no one is stipendiary any attending or care for this , even those who are organism killed. Untill now we, the palestinians, are not able to compass a coalesced berth in well-nigh every problem we face, most epochal of which is occupying. occupying into and livelihood in this holy land I have seen that if it is left for us to solve it we will ne'er do anything. The Isralis are also stuck with us and both the Israelis and the Palestinians have teensy-weensy cartel in a 3rd partizan to come and try doing something well-nigh it. In Gaza we are tranquillize wretched, in Beit Hanon, in Ramalla, in Nablus, in Jenin and virtually everyplace. I dont know how it looks for Israelis indoors yisrael but I do believe its not less worsened than in here. I dont know if many will be spared untill we bequeath this brainpower of draining each added 'for land' ! As long as we give the casual to those citizenry to talk , thither will be no solution posted by Osaid Rasheed @ 5:11 PM 17 comments links to this post Tuesday, October 17, 2006 What is it like in Canaan now ? Working in one of the biggest hospitals in Canaan, videlicet in Hebron, I have seen MUCH during the past 2 months. Protrusive from October the outset virtually 90% of the teachers in govermental schools started their expunge. Since then all palestinian students are NOT sledding to their schools , omit for few schools where students and their teachers stay for 2-3 hours then they entrust. The Palestinian Ministry of Health has been on excise since then ,too. ALL govermental hospitals stopped-up receipt patients ( exclude for pressing cases ) and the entire health sector in the commonwealth is ravaged. Even vaccinations are not organism presupposition . Some health centers open their doors only for 2 hours to give vaccinations to children, only tens incur the vaccinations and thousands are left to tolerate from this 'strike'. I believe that this 'strike' puts honorable and ordered questions that inevitably to be answered by us ( as Palestinians ). It is not the governmental attribute I am talking nearly here, but it is this brainpower that is putt the lives of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in danger so as to 'achieve' some governmental goals ! I retrieve that we have to restart evaluationg our abilities as a 'nation' that can handgrip edifice a 'state' : something we have been interrogative for since long. What is occurrence here is not only shocking and slow-witted, it is a very touch-and-go slot that inevitably secondly thoughts from everyone of us. Being primed to keep on with a "strike" that is treating the inhabit worsened than occupancy, is something that agency only one thing : we are VERY penny-pinching to a civilized war . May God interdict ..... posted by Osaid Rasheed @ 3:03 PM 15 comments links to this post Tuesday, Sep 05, 2006 Hamas Governing : for how long ? For how long can Hamas Governance stay ? The integral internationalistic community is nonsegmental against them, omit for Iran and Syria and very few countries. They have been elective to 'cause alteration' and get rid of the very bribable Fatah-led governance, but until now they have done virtually nix. nix's 'ideas' appear to be inadequate every logic. Hamas's structure mightiness not be that bad, yet their goals and ideas as a Palestinian partizan are very far from realness. The call to "destroy Yisrael" cannot be reasoning. Calling for war against Yisrael is also not a reasonable step. I believe they have very unplayful mistakes for which they will have to reconsider many things. For how long they can standstill all these rattling pressures on them? The problem is that the coerce is on the Populate, not on Hamas itself entirely. Will they consider this and bridle for how long can these poor Palestinians standstill ? It is time for newer voices in the Palestinian governmental life. We do not need more depravity and more dreams, we need to live just like former populate. Live low-level the law , cooperative, and free. posted by Osaid Rasheed @ 5:37 PM 28 comments links to this post Thursday, Honourable 17, 2006 Israel vs Hizbollah : Lessons for Palestinians. Described by Al-Jazeera as the 'sixth war' 'tween ' Arabs ' and ' Yisrael ', the upshot of this war was unannounced for ' Arabs ' as well as for ' Yisrael ' ! During more than one month of consuming 'military operations', the Hizb uninterrupted raining boreal Yisrael ( including Cities, Villages, noncombatant bases, Airports and added soldierly targets ) with an median of 200 Katushas per day. This was viewd by the Israeli populate as a 'big nonstarter' , while a 'victory' by the Hizb and his supporters . Away from analyzing this 'war' as a 'defeat' or a 'victory' for the Hizb or Yisrael , let's have a look at the lessons Palestinians should memorize from this 'war'. First : All that matters during showdown is oneness. In lebanon thither are many ethnical and god-fearing backgrounds with diametrical, and sometimnes counteractive, interests. We have the Shiaas, Sunnis, Christians ( many groups ). Thither are parties that have restrained martial and comradely dealings with France, Syria and Iran, USA, and potentially others. During this war, they were all ( Muslims and Christians ) Federate subordinate the Authorities that has been elective by the undivided lebanese Inhabit. Even the Hizb showed much wholeness and obedience to the governments positions ( Subsequently the erruption of the war ). In Canaan we have theree starring all-important players : Hamas, Fatah, and the Moslem Jehad. Parenthesis from publicly criticizing each added, thither were many incidents of intrinsical unpeaceful betwixt these troika fractions which led to the humorous of tens of Palestinians ( particularly in Gaza ). At the time when Fatah was forming the Authorities, Hamas ne'er obstructed its combatant 'resistance' against occupancy and that certainly had a very non impingement on the entire Palestinian induce.

The Middle East is a region in crisis

“Mr. President, The Middle East is a region in crisis. [Note: sweeet opening line] After three weeks of escalating and continuing violence, the potential for wider regional conflict becomes more real each day. The hatred in the Middle East is being driven deeper and deeper into the fabric of the region…which will make any lasting and sustained peace effort very difficult to achieve. How do we realistically believe that a continuation of the systematic destruction of an American friend, the country and people of Lebanon, is going to enhance America’s image and give us the trust and credibility to lead a lasting and sustained peace effort in the Middle East? The sickening slaughter on both sides must end now. President Bush must call for an immediate cease fire. This madness must stop.

The Middle East today is more combustible and complex than it has ever been. [Note: how about around the time of the end of WWI? Or maybe 1948? Or, fuck’s sake, how about a few years ago when we blew up an entire country? Nope, today it is definitely more “combustible”] Uncertain popular support for regime legitimacy continues to weaken governments of the Middle East. Economic stagnation, persistent unemployment, deepening despair and wider unrest enhance the ability of terrorists to recruit and succeed. An Iran with nuclear weapons raises the specter of broader proliferation and a fundamental strategic realignment in the region, creating more regional instability.