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Mutanabbi Street
Broadsides
Mutanabbi Street is the centuries-old center of bookselling
in Baghdad, a winding street filled with bookstores and
outdoor book stalls. Named after the famed 10th Century
classical Arab poet, Al- Mutanabbi, this street has been,
since time immemorial, the historic heart and soul of the
Baghdad literary and intellectual community.
On March 5, 2007, a car bomb was detonated on Mutanabbi
Street. At least thirty people were killed and one hundred
wounded.
The Mutanabbi Street Coalition was formed soon afterwards to
commemorate not just the tragic loss of life, but also the
idea of a targeted attack on a street where ideas have
always been exchanged.
The coalition, headed by San Francisco poet and bookseller
Beau Beausoleil and printer and professor Kathleen Walkup,
is made up of over forty letterpress printers who have
gathered to respond to the tragedy with positive creativity:
by printing the work of Iraqi poets in broadside form and
supporting Doctors Without Borders––a non-profit agency
working to relieve suffering in Iraq and in other troubled
areas of the world––through the sales of these broadsides.
Florida Atlantic University's digital collection: "Mutanabbi
Street Starts Here" Broadsides collection brings this
historic suite of hand-printed literary broadsides to South
Florida, and features the original 42 of a projected 130
pieces upon completion of the project. Each is truly a work
of art. All are printed letterpress, usually from handset
metal or wood type. Some feature original relief prints,
some are printed on handmade paper; all are made with the
passion of artists who have something to say.
This historic Mutanabbi Street Coalition project––one of
only ten in the world––will remain at Florida Atlantic
University Libraries, and will be permanently housed at the
Arthur & Mata Jaffe Center for Book Arts, 3rd floor east of
the Wimberly Library.
Florida Atlantic University Libraries has digitized the full
collection of broadsides by the Mutanabbi Street Coalition.
This digital collection now has a home on the Internet and
may be viewed by people around the globe through the Jaffe
Center for Book Arts website or through the FAU Digital
Library website:
www.library.fau.edu/depts/digital_library/
mutanabbi_index.htm
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