Make Books Not War

Description:	Bodman, Sarah (printer)Chalabi, Nadia (calligraphy)Chalabi, Nejat (translator) Letterpress with laser etching. Edition of 15.This collection supports and promotes awareness to the important mission and framework of the Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Coalitions focus on the lasting power of the written word and the arts in support of the free expression of ideas, the preservation of shared cultural spaces, and the importance of responding to attacks, both overt and subtle, on artists, writers, and academics working under oppressive regimes or in zones of conflict, despite the destruction of that literary/cultural content. I first heard about the project when Beau Beausoleil contacted me at the recommendation of Steve Woodall at SFCB. I am really pleased that Steve said to get in touch as this is such a great idea. The Make Books Not War text on the broadside was translated into Arabic by Nejat Chalabi and handwritten by Nadia Chalabi to scan and then laser etch into the paper. I wanted to make something that conveyed the message very easily. The letterpress text is meant to look like the old Western “wanted” posters. I asked my friend Nadia Chalabi, who has also produced a broadside, if her mother could translate the text into Arabic for me; these are the variations that arose:Make Books Not WarMake a book and do not make warBe the author of a book and not the author of warsWe want books not warsGive me a book not warProduce books not warsWrite your thoughts and do not make warWrite for peace and do not write for warI think that just about sums it all up.
Origin:	2009
Created By:	Bodman, Sarah; Chalabi, Nadia; Chalabi, Nejat
Contributor(s):	Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Coalition
Source:	http://iuidigital.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/AMSSH/id/181
Collection:	Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Coalition Collection
Rights:	http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Copyright:	In Copyright
Subjects:	broadsides letterpress printing art

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