The Columbia College Libraries is presently internet hosting an exhibit entitled: “Inscriptions Unbound: Edward Stated’s Library”, on the third flooring of Butler Library. The exhibit options inscriptions from roughly 50 books chosen from Edward Stated’s ebook collections, that are housed within the Edward Stated Studying Room (Butler Library), the Center East Institute, and his former New York Metropolis house. The exhibit is curated by Pleasure Al-Nemri (MA in Center Jap, South Asian, and African Research at Columbia College). This week, after we mounted the exhibit, I sat down with Pleasure and requested her a number of questions:
Whats up, Pleasure. Are you able to please introduce your self, your mental background and pursuits:
My title is Pleasure Al-Nemri. I maintain a BA in Anthropology with a focus in Center Jap Research from Bard School and I’m additionally a graduate of the Center Jap, South Asian, and African Research, MESAAS Division at Columbia College, the place I earned an MA in Might 2024. I’m presently concerned in a analysis mission on the Center East Institute. My MA thesis explored a number of the methods by which Moroccans and Tunisians relate to Palestinians. Drawing on three months of participant observations and interviews I carried out in Morocco in 2022 and in 2023, my analysis sought to know how North Africans relate to the Palestinian battle on a private, experiential degree, and what these completely different types of identification and solidarity reveal about group identities within the area. Up to now few years, I’ve additionally carried out two Institutional Overview Board Accredited ethnographic research on Arabic-speaking refugees in Greece and Connecticut. I’ve expertise in refugee advocacy, instructing, translating, and main DEI workshops. My scholarly pursuits embrace exploring the family tree of anti-Blackness in Arabic-speaking contexts, Palestine solidarity, and the way refugee crises are framed.
How did the thought of the exhibit come to you?
The exhibit got here to me in phases. Throughout my first semester at Columbia, my good friend, Anna Tyshkov–a latest Columbia Anthropology alumnae–took me on my first go to to the Edward Stated Studying Room. She advised me that she would usually work within the Stated Studying Room and that she loved trying by means of Stated’s books on her breaks. The room quickly grew to become my favourite place to review on campus. I couldn’t imagine that I used to be surrounded by the books that formed one among my most cherished thinkers. I might leaf by means of the pages of the books, and picture a way of mental closeness to my aspirational mentor, Edward Stated.
Within the Fall of 2022, I used to be enrolled in Professor Brinkley Messick’s “Written Tradition” course. The course supplied an exquisite alternative to suppose extra deeply about varied types of texts, inscriptions, and archives. I might usually go to Prof. Messick’s workplace hours that semester, and through one among our early discussions, the subject of Edward Stated’s books and library got here up. Prof. Messick proposed an concept, and shared {that a} graduate pupil who had since graduated, had really began trying by means of a few of Stated’s books which might be housed within the Center East Institute. These have been books that didn’t make it to the Edward Stated Studying Room in Butler Library, however have been nonetheless donated to Columbia College. I used to be thrilled to search out two full cabinets price of books on the MEI, and to my shock, many had inscriptions inside their fly leaves from main intellectuals, which intrigued me and piqued my curiosity: the earlier graduate pupil had additionally observed this, and had began to annotate a listing with the names of the donors of those books and of their dedications and messages to Stated. I got here again to Prof. Messick and shared my enthusiasm for this mission, and proposed that I might choose up the place the coed left the mission. Prof. Messick was enthusiastic and absolutely supportive. The MEI’s Arcapita Visiting Professor on the time, Dr. Islam Dayeh, had additionally expressed enthusiasm for the mission, and brought on a school supervisor function for the primary stage of this mission.
Later within the spring of 2023, Prof. Messick really helpful that I share the inscriptions with Edward’s spouse, Mariam Stated. That is when the oral historical past part of the mission developed. I bear in mind my robust emotions when Mariam advised me many tales about Stated’s connections to Palestine. It was particularly significant to me that these conversations have been going down through the week of the seventy fifth anniversary of the Nakba, a devastating milestone for my household and the Palestinian neighborhood at giant. Over the next 12 months, I might share the entire inscriptions I discovered with Mariam and we might speak endlessly. Mariam was stuffed with tales and she or he helped deliver invaluable context to the inscriptions, the folks behind them, and their relationships with Stated. Her steering was instrumental in serving to me curate the exhibit, as I needed to choose solely 49 inscriptions to showcase out of a whole bunch. She was so sort to open up her house to me, give me her time, and share her private photograph assortment along with books from her house that I assumed would assist add depth and context to the exhibit.
The Head of International Research, Kaoukab Chebaro, and the Center East & Islamic Research Librarian, Peter Magierski, additionally spent numerous hours guiding me by means of every stage of the mission. Kaoukab advocated for my mission throughout the Libraries, helped me navigate the workflows, and helped form the shape and content material of the exhibit with the utmost care. She helped spotlight key mental matters and pointed me to key activist figures to incorporate within the last exhibit. We might focus on the wireframing for the exhibit, the final ideas, and my write-up and progress in weekly conferences. Amongst many contributions, Peter helped me keep organized and lent his assist to the mission all through its execution: he supplied excel sheets, exhibit mock-up frameworks, and when all was prepared, the three of us (myself, Peter and Kaoukab) spent lengthy hours method into the night pinning the exhibit up with meticulous consideration to element, spacing and general format. I really couldn’t have accomplished this mission with out Kaoukab and Peter’s valuable assist and assist. 
What was the diploma of your familiarity with the Edward Stated ebook assortment previous to embarking on this curatorial journey? Why did you select to deal with the ebook assortment quite than on the archival assortment on this exhibit?
It is a nice query! To be trustworthy, I used to be extra acquainted with the Edward Stated Studying Room assortment quite than the archival assortment. The Studying Room was extra accessible to me and it initially appeared most possible to start the mission by trying on the books housed within the Center East Institute and the Studying Room. If given the chance, I might love for an opportunity to develop upon my work and look by means of the archival assortment. I’m certain there are various treasures there that may possible have a lot resonance with the inscriptions I’ve discovered, and would deepen and broaden the narrative I pointed to by means of my number of the inscriptions within the books. Far more must be advised about these tales than I used to be capable of with this exhibit.
How great! Extra to sit up for. Hopefully, this may be continued at some stage. What was the curatorial course of or precept you adopted, and the way did you provide you with the assorted window themes?
After discovering a whole bunch of inscriptions, I had the painful process of narrowing down which tales I might share. Mariam and Kaoukab have been most useful to me. I needed to choose and select whether or not or not I might prioritize an inscription primarily based on the inscriber, their relationship with Edward, and the standard of what they wrote, and the general narrative I wished to convey. This was the toughest factor for me: to study to let go, to prioritize and suppose by means of learn how to write an exhibit and a label in 100 phrases, quite than in 2000 phrases or extra, as in writing a scholarly paper or report. After narrowing down some names, I made a decision early on that I wished every window theme to characterize the title of one among Edward’s books. I then related the inscriptions to the ebook themes that appeared to take advantage of sense. Within the later phases of the curation, I made a decision to have an introductory window and made the ultimate choices of pictures from the Stated household’s private assortment.
Which window, or which objects from the exhibit are your favourite, and why?
It is a very exhausting query for me to reply, however I must say that After the Final Sky: Palestinian Lives is my favourite window. I like how Jean Mohr’s photographs from the ebook assist showcase the sweetness and resilience of the Palestinian folks. These photographs are juxtaposed with inscriptions from Palestinians whose gratitude and love for Edward shine by means of. This exhibit isn’t solely a commemoration of Edward Stated as an individual and public mental, it’s additionally a testomony to the inextricable bonds that the Palestinian neighborhood has with the land and one another, regardless of the trauma of the continuing Nakba and exile.
What stunned you concerning the means of curating an exhibit akin to this one? What did you study?
This was among the finest studying experiences of my life. Researching and curating this exhibit helped me maintain myself open for surprises. I used to be shocked by what number of inscriptions have been left to each Mariam and Edward–a testomony to how the each of them solid significant private and mental relationships. I additionally was heartwarmed to see inscriptions from many people who didn’t know Edward personally, however felt compelled to ship him books. The character of many of those relationships have been corroborated by Mariam, which I so usually couldn’t have been capable of know in any other case.
The method of curating the exhibit was additionally an incredible mental and writing train. It was my first exhibit the place I wrote for the broader public, quite than for my instructors in a classroom setting. With nice steering from Kaoukab and Peter, I aimed to indicate, quite than inform tales. The small print from the inscriptions I delivered to focus all through the exhibit embody the connections and narratives I used to be most excited to share.
What have been a number of the challenges and rewards you encountered?
This mission introduced me immense pleasure and luxury throughout an extremely troublesome and emotionally charged time. Whereas there have been many challenges that I confronted all through this endeavor, I really feel grateful for the entire methods I discovered to navigate by means of every subject that arose. It was my first time doing archival work–not to mention with over 4,000 books housed in three completely different areas. I started the mission by trying by means of about 1,000 of Edward’s books that have been situated in an workplace within the Center East Institute. Whereas most of those books have been on the cabinets, two years later I paid nearer consideration to six giant cardboard bins that I found held dozens of Edward’s books. These bins have been sealed for practically 20 years and nobody actually had the bandwidth to account for them.
There have been logistical challenges and issues of entry, too: the second section of the mission befell in Butler Library’s Edward Stated Studying Room. Whereas I had began trying by means of the books within the Stated Studying Room previous to October 7, 2023, there was a interval within the Spring of 2024 coinciding with the coed protests and the locking of the campus to important employees solely: I needed to wait till campus reopened to guests to renew my work.
On the rewards entrance, I cherish the chance I used to be given to work by means of the fabric on this method, nearly as an ethnologue–what can the trajectories of books inform us concerning the individuals who cherish them? — I dug into the inscriptions–each terse and longer-form letters– that had been hidden throughout the bindings of Edward Stated’s books for many years, with curiosity and actual pleasure. It was additionally rewarding for me to share these inscriptions together with his spouse, Mariam Stated, and assist her recount misplaced reminiscences and uncover new connections.
Are you planning any occasions to go along with the exhibit?
Sure! I’m planning a chat at Columbia later this spring that can go into extra element concerning the mission and my findings. I hope to ask Mosab Abu Toha, who based the Edward Stated Public Library in Beit Lahia, North Gaza in 2017. This was Gaza’s first English language library and it was tragically destroyed by Israel on January 22, 2025 throughout its ongoing genocidal marketing campaign in opposition to Palestinians. I imagine that Mosab’s personal work will assist complement and shed new mild by myself work. After the exhibit is taken down on the 77th anniversary of the Nakba (Might 15, 2025), I hope to put in a part of it in Knox Corridor, with the Center East Institute. Inshallah, extra occasions to return!
If there may be one message you’d convey to the viewers of the exhibit, particularly the scholars, what would it not be?
The story that emerges from this exhibit is one among a person greater than life, a dedicated public mental with a superb and daring thoughts in addition to massively spectacular erudition; a humorous and witty interlocutor; a heat good friend; an exacting and beneficiant instructor; a curious and engaged colleague; however most of all, a brave humanist who spoke fact to energy. These dedications reveal the enduring legacy of a person whose ardour for social justice and mental integrity proceed to encourage and form discourses throughout generations, particularly round Palestine and justice for Palestinians.
Thanks, Pleasure! What a pleasure to work with you, and what a journey! I want you the most effective of luck with all of your subsequent tasks!
Kaoukab Chebaro, International Research, Head, Columbia College Libraries
For inquiries concerning the Edward Stated Studying Room, e-mail Kaoukab Chebaro, International Research, Head: kc3287@ columbia.edu
For inquiries concerning our in depth Center Jap Research collections, e-mail Peter Magierski, Center East and Islamic Research Librarian: pm2650@columbia.edu
For inquiries concerning the Edward Stated archival papers or to ebook an appointment, e-mail RBM: staffrbml@library.columbia.edu
