Elana Bell, Promoting Peace Building With Book Launch

When Elana Bell first received word that she'd won the 2011 Walt Whitman award for her collection of poetry entitled “Eyes, Stones” about the Palestine/Israel conflict, it wasn't the sort of grand envelope-cutting ceremony one might envision. 

"I’d had a really tough day student-teaching and was sitting at my computer in my office," the Park Slope author told Carroll Gardens Patch. "Then I opened up this e-mail saying I had won; it was bizarre—not a phone call or anything. So I called my husband and I was in shock! But the book's something that I always believed in. And it feels bigger than myself."

Having settled into her accomplishment, Elana Bell now plans to celebrate “Eyes, Stones” at on Thursday, May 3 from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. with a suitably spectacular launch event that will include readings, performances, art installations, music, and food and drink donated by ,  and . The party is free but requires an RSVP to eyesstones@gmail.com 

In facy, 10 local artists have created original pieces of art in response to the poems from Bell's manuscript. A silent auction will be held for the work and all proceeds will be donated to Just Vision, an organization that provides in-depth media coverage of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict and civilians peace building in the region.

"I wanted to choose an organization that will honor and engage, focusing on both sides of the conflict," said Bell in a telephone interview.

The event will also debut a theatrical version of the text from the book, featuring live music by Katie Down and choreography by Deborah Goffe of Scapegoat Garden, which will be performed subsequently at Jewish and Muslim community centers in Brooklyn (funded by The Brooklyn Arts Council).  

"The performance piece feels almost like short monologues," Bell explained, adding that she will participate in the short acts. "I hope it will get people to engage with the material and, in a fully idealistic way, that they feel inspired to work toward peace."

Bell's interest in the Israeli/Palestinean conflict is deeply rooted in her childhood.

"My grandmother survived the holocaust and was from Poland originally," said Bell. "For her, knowing that there was Israel, this home and this safe place for her to go, was a comfort to her and it always shaped my narrative of Israel. Growing up, I developed a curiosity about it and in my late 20s I went on a Birthright trip and had a strong reaction to Israel. I felt so connected and understood what my grandmother had felt."

Upon returning home, however, the community in New York challenged Bell's ideas, which led to a deeper exploration and a second narrative of how Israel was created and what it is for.

In 2009, she received a grant and began traveling back and forth to explore the dynamics between the two communities and to meet with peace-building outfits in the region.

"I met a lot of people on a grassroots level who were doing peace work," Bell said. "And that isn’t the kind of thing that’s covered in the media here. It makes you feel over here that there’s no hope when, really, there is the opportunity for tremendous growth—and for shifting and for change.

Bell initially planned to write an oral history book. But the poetry started to come to her as a way to really explore the question of "how these two narratives can live in one body."

"A lot of it are poems in my voice, living with the question and the tension that that question creates," said Bell. She also wrote persona poems in the voice of historical characters and others.

The book is currently being sold at Greenlight Books, Community Bookstore in Park Slope and seeking a home in Carroll Gardens. But sales of the book mean less to Bell, she said, than leaving a lasting impression upon others.

"There are small ripple effects that we can all make toward peace," said Bell. "That message is my hope for the book and for the event."