New twist to old tale aims to build bridges, dismantle walls

In a modern rendition of a Shakespeare classic, City College of New York poet and author Pamela Laskin presents 鈥,鈥 a Palestinian/Israeli 鈥淩omeo and Juliet鈥 in verse for teenagers. The book appears from HarperCollins on Feb. 21 with a dramatic reading at the City College Center for the Arts Feb. 28 at 6 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Critics hail Laskin鈥檚 work as 鈥渂eautiful and lyrical,鈥 delivering a fresh and captivating retelling of Romeo and Juliet that transports the star-crossed lovers to the modern day Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

鈥淭his is a book about building bridges and dismantling walls -- a perfect anecdote to the current ugliness and rampant Islamophobia our new administration in Washington has unleashed,鈥 said Laskin.

On the reading at CCCA, she noted: 鈥淚n the age of Trump, this is such an important staged production, since its focus is on how two divergent sides can not only get along, but learn to love one another.鈥

For more information or to RSVP, Call the CCCA box office at 212.650.6900 or click .

鈥淩onit & Jamil鈥 is the latest book by the Laskin, a lecturer in CCNY鈥檚 Division of Humanities and the Arts, and director of the college鈥檚 Poetry Outreach Center.

Her other publications include:

  • 鈥溾 (Plain View Press, 2015), an edited anthology;
     
  • 鈥溾 (Little Balloon Press, 2014), a children's book; and
     
  • 鈥溾 (Cervena Barva Press, 2013), a poetry book.

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