This work was created especially for Pyramid under the auspices of a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. It was created as part of a diptych entitled Two Poems for Courage and Change, alongside Sea by Etel Adnan (see Adnan entry). Nye reached out to her life-long friend Beck Whitehead to collaborate with her on this beautiful broadside. Nye’s words and Whitehead’s imagery of connecting hands blend powerfully as an emotionally affective work.

Nye, born to a Palestinian father and an American mother, began writing poetry at the age of six. In addition to poems, she also writes young adult fiction, picture books, and novels. Paper artist Beck Whitehead directed the Paper studio at the Southwest School of Art and continued her wonderful image-making until her untimely passing.

Papermaker: Gretchen Schermerhorn
Ilustrator: Beck Whitehead (1951 – 2021)
Printer: Gordon Fluke

Learn more about the artist:
poets.org/poet/naomi-shihab-nye