What I Will Tell My Jewish Kids

when i saw
an old woman
on all fours
in the ruins
of her home
looking under
floor tiles
for medicine
i did think
what would i say
if it were my grandmother

So begins What I Will Tell My Jewish Kids, a collection of poems on Palestine from Kevin Coval, four-time HBO Def Poet and ALA "Book-of-the-Year" finalist.

What I Will Tell My Jewish Kids is about the Jewish community, conflicts within it, and family reflections; it's about speaking truth to power, at the dinner table and in the world at large; it's about the undeniable power of history and facts, the inspiration of resistance, and the promise of justice and reconciliation. Most of all, What I Will Tell My Jewish Kids is a dissident artistic vision, a lovesong to both all of those who are Jewish, who refuse to equate Judaism and Zionism, who believe their people "have a long story. more than what is seen now"; and to those who resist against all odds, apartheid walls, checkpoints, and borders, their oppression in Palestine.

For select excerpts, "The Wall" and "What I Will Tell My Jewish Kids" visit http://kcovaleverydaypeople.blogspot.com/

What I Will Tell My Jewish Kids also includes a special preview of L-vis Lives: Racemusic Poems, Coval's forthcoming collection on race and culture, art and ownership in America today, releasing September 2011 from Haymarket Books.