Mandy Shunnarah Cannot Separate Love From Palestine - Electric Literature

Mandy Shunnarah Cannot Separate Love From Palestine - Electric Literature

Mandy Shunnarah’s resolute and irreverent debut poetry collection We Had Mansions starts with “ars poetica of partridges and palestine.” The connection may sound surprising. Shunnarah’s paternal grandfather, who they call Sedo, once told them, “our last name means partridge.” As the poem progresses, Shunnarah uncovers an illuminating link between partridges, which have many species, and Palestine. They write, “National Geographic says 43 of thos…