Publisher's Synopsis
PrefaceThe inspiration for a global anthology of this content lies in the heart-driven observations of the contributors. World's preventable ills are evident. A united look at the pain and sufferings of the innocent against the backlash of available solutions blocked by those in power was a sufficient reason for us to feel motivated to collectively appeal to our readership. We knew that we had to stand up and be counted when our joint conviction was concerned: to help combat at least some of the tribulations that are inflicted upon the powerless by countless men / women, driven by the greed for money and hatred toward everyone who is different.As for the genre of focus, poetry has been known for ages to enable that which seems impossible for those trapped in silence for one reason or another: a voice. The plea voiced in this publication for you, dear reader, is simple: world peace. In order to achieve peace on a global scale, however, the process of healing must materialize across the world. Addressing the ills is a start, in addition to being a vital step. Hence, some poems in this volume bring such efforts to your attention. Others only speak of the post-healing state of an individual or a group of people. Unanimously, though, each poet's work in this volume aims to come to terms with the dilemmas and struggles that affect humanity at large. It is that noble intent which brought a large number of writers together for and through this poetry compilation. The world regions from and the languages with which an excess of 120 poets arrived at this destination constitute a vast number. Their insights into and contemplations on the critical importance of world healing, world peace entered this publication - either in translations or in the contributors' original tongues -from Greece, India, China, Poland, Slovakia, South Africa, Indonesia, Kosova, Pakistan, former Yugoslavia, Portugal, the Republic of Mauritius, Jamaica, Australia, Kurdistan, Mexico, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Nigeria, Canada, Egypt, Romania, Nepal, Bosnia, Azerbaijan, Tunisia, Palestine, Algeria, Iraq, the Philippines, the Kingdom of Bhutan, Turkey, Morocco, Croatia, Algiers, Uruguay, Syria, Jordan, Chile, Peru, the U.K. and the U.S.A.The rigid linguistic demands native speakers of English make on non-natives can be utterly restrictive to literary voices across the world that have much to add to our minds' expansion, but to our overall enrichment as individuals as well. A considerable number of the contributors speak several languages, on which we have neither jurisdiction nor first-hand knowledge. Yet, we, in the English-speaking regions of the globe, have the tendency to dictate the non-native speakers and writers of our target language how to speak and write. Furthermore, the pressure we place on them reaches a point of forcing them to think how we do. Instead of honoring the wealth of insights they offer us, either in translation or through their unique ways of expression using English, we are quick to judge the surface differences. Poetic creativity, however, does not work thus. If you are an English-only speaker, our collection of poems will demand from you to expand your comfort zone. For, none of the authorial messages has been edited for content. Our decision was, as it always is with our international anthologies, to honor and preserve the authentic voices of the contributing poets. Therefore, only minor changes were made in specific terms of mechanical rules, as widely expected in the U.S.A. So, we invite you to take delight in the diverse formulations of the poetic art and the multiple voices of genuine concern for an all-inclusive humanity, while you take note of the unique beauty in the distinctive verse-paintings that enabled this anthology. You will not be disappointed. hülya n. yilmaz Ph.D., Liberal Arts EmeritaThe Pennsylvania State University
