This is from Sandy Tolan, Homelands co-founder and author of The Lemon Tree, about his new book project and blog.
I’ll be spending the summer in the West Bank working on a new book about a group of musical visionaries from around the world, the amazing Palestinian children who are their students, and the story of the music schools they share, founded by a former child of the first Palestinian intifada.
I’ve started blogging about it, about what it feels like on the ground in the region now, and about ordinary life in Ramallah, the West Bank, and the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon. It’s mostly off-the-map material, personal impressions, moments in time, and bright, sharp shards of insight ordinary people are sharing with me. This is combined with a collection of my recent pieces and commentaries from Al Jazeera English, NPR, Salon, and the Christian Science Monitor.
The latest post is called “Beethoven in Shatila.” There’s also a link to an NPR piece that traces the roots of the story in my new book. Would love to hear your comments – there’s a place for that on the blog. And if you’re so inclined, please spread the word.