The Shared World: Poems for a New Middle East

The Cushing Public Library and the Camden Conference present The Shared World: Poems for a New Middle East, with host Ellen Goldsmith, on Saturday, October 26, 2025 from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.

The title, The Shared World, expresses the thrust of the poems by writers with Middle East origins—to foster connections, to evoke new thoughts and feelings, to deepen understandings. One of the poets, Yehuda Amichai, says he “started writing poetry, using my words to come to terms with my life’s extremes and heal myself and go on living.” From Nathalie Handal, another of the poets, “I’d like to be a scarf so I can place it over my hair and understand other worlds. I’d like to be the voice of a soprano singer so I can move through all borders and see them vanish with every spellbinding note.” In the session, presenters read and respond to their poem. Together, the poems and commentary create a tapestry of ideas and emotions. In this participatory event there will be opportunities for attendees to engage with the poems. The handout will be posted on the Camden Conference website and also available at the session.

Ellen Goldsmith initiated the Community Events Poetry Session to bring the insights of poetry to the conference topic. Author of four chapbooks, her first full-length collection – Are We There Yet? — is forthcoming from Kelsay Books. Her poems have been published in numerous journals and anthologies. Goldsmith holds an Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University and is professor emeritus of The City University of New York. She lives in Cushing Maine.