Divide and Rule

By Walid Bitar

"The empire's missing links are found deep in this poet's ever-astonishing states of multiple consciousness--astutely attuned to the pressured, violent, mass conformities forced upon us--brilliantly formed into poems as ambitious and achieved as any written in the English language today."--Lawrence Joseph

In these dramatic monologues, Walid Bitar delivers variations on the theme of power: in politics, in the subjugation and abuse of other cultures, and in our divided selves. Using satire, parody, koan, and riddle, Divide and Rule struggles with the mendacity of language and identity.

They have no maps. Ours, I'll redraw.
Isn't itself, their neck of the woods,
needs a rest--something more than a nap,
and less than death, though death wouldn't hurt.

Walid Bitar's poetry collections include 2 Guys on Holy Land, Bastardi Puri, and The Empire's Missing Links. He was born in Beirut and lives in Toronto, Ontario.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1552452549
• ISBN13: 9781552452547
• Release Date: July 2012
• Publisher: Coach House Books
• Length: 72 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 4.9" x 7.8"