Revolving Doors, a poem in 36 parts, follows, with some deviations, the structure of Nanni Balestrini’s Blackout (Rome: DeriveApprodi, 2001).
Barricade is publishing the first 16 poems in the series on our web forum Ramparts throughout the month of August; the full 36-poem sequence will be available as a print zine in September 2024.
Revolving Doors will be also be featured in THE LIGHT THAT BURNS US, an expanded anthology of Khaleed’s work forthcoming from World Poetry Books on October 10. Pre-order at worldpoetrybooks.com.
Below is a list of sources used in this cut-up and the pattern of their usage.
A) Odysseas Elytis, The first sun (Athens: Ikaros, 1996).
B) Giorgos Stamatopoulos, “Aegean sea,” www.efsyn.gr, 2 February 2020; Heinrich Hall, “Winds blowing,” www.kathimerini.gr, 30 June 2018; “The islands of the Northwestern Aegean,” www.ελληνικανησια.com; Peris Halatsis “Aegean: the beauty of the islands on the non profit line,” www.now24.gr; “Eastern Aegean,” www.athinorama.gr; “Maritime tourism,” www.aegeanislands.gr; “Poetry about the Aegean,” www.aegeanislands.gr
C) Articles from www.kathimerini.gr. Giannis Souliotis, “Patrols block off Aegean,” 6 May 2020; Giannis Souliotis “Concerns of migrants ‘disembarking’ on the islands,” 14 April 2020; Giannis Souliotis, “Migrant crisis: Interceptions curtailing entries,” 14 March 2020; Giannis Souliotis, “Turkish border patrol announces it will ban migrants from attempting to cross the Aegean,” 7 March 2020; Giannis Souliotis, “A culture of ‘aggressive surveillance’ in the Coast Guard,” 4 March 2020; Giannis Souliotis, “As of yesterday, Coast Guard and Police on alert,” 29 February 2020; Giannis Souliotis, “Migrants causing chaos on the islands,” 11 August 2015; Giorgos S. Bourdaras, “Coast Guard apologizes for Farmakonisi,” 30 January 2014; Giannis Elafros, “Shocking accounts from refugees regarding Farmakonisi,” 24 January 2014.
D) Tweets posted between 1 March 2015 and 1 September 2018 with the keywords “Aegean” and “immigrants.”
E) All poems by Arab-American poets published in Teflon. Zeina Alsous, “In Paris, an Arab Girl Enters the Museum,” no. 24, 2021, p. 61. Safia Elhillo, “Application for the Position of Abdelhalim Hafez’s Girl”, no. 22, 2020, p. 92; Hala Alyan, “Maktoub,” no. 14, 2016, pp. 86-87; Safia Elhillo, “Vocabulary,” ibid., p. 97; Lisa Suhair Majaj, “Reunion,” no. 10, 2014, p. 89; Lisa Suhair Majaj, “Shards,” ibid., pp. 92-93; Lisa Suhair Majaj, “Olive Trees,” ibid., pp. 92-93; Lisa Suhair Majaj, “This Is Not a Massacre,” ibid., p. 96; Lisa Suhair Majaj, “Arguments,” ibid., p. 97; Lisa Suhair Majaj, “These Words,” ibid., pp. 98-99; Lisa Suhair Majaj, “The Coffin Maker Speaks,” ibid., pp. 100-101; Lisa Suhair Majaj, “Practicing Loving Kindness,” ibid., pp.102-103; Mohja Kahf, “Voyager Dust,” no. 9, 2013, p. 9; Mohja Kahf, “The Cherries,” ibid., pp. 10-12; Mohja Kahf, “The Fires Have Begun,” ibid., p. 15; Mohja Kahf, “The Marvelous Women” ibid., pp. 20-21; Mohja Kahf, “Men Kill Me,” ibid., p. 24; Suheir Hammad, “First Writing Since,” no. 8, 2013, p. 8; Suheir Hammad, “Dead Woman,” ibid., p.10; Suheir Hammad, “Children of Stone,” ibid., p. 15; Suheir Hammad, “Broken and Beirut,” ibid., pp. 16-17; Hind Shoufani, “Headlines,” no. 6, 2012, pp. 92-93.
F) Tweets posted between 1 March 2015 and 1 September 2018 with the keywords “Syria” and “immigrants.”
G) Various, Nearly invisible: the illegalization of labor as official immigration policy, Athens: Antifa Scripta, 2013.