Two Tongues

In Two Tongues, Lana Issam Ghannam writes about her experiences growing up as a first-generation Palestinian-American in post-9/11 America. She creates small scenes from big perspectives in each poem as she navigates her two cultures from adolescence to adulthood. She moves in and out of family duty, religion, culture, gender expectations, patriotism, and competing languages in the search for her truest identity. These poems represent her growth, stand for her pride, and strive for the absolute strength known by so many immigrated families--"I grow beneath the ground / in this America of coloring seas. / ...I am of this earth, this flame / ...I own the roots of this land."