The magical effect of writing and reading poetry

Internationally renowned Lebanese poet Zeina Hashem Beck’s new collection is published this week by Penguin Poets – the first Arab poet they publish. She graduated from AUB with BA and MA degrees, and has been recognized and published across the world. In this discussion, she explains how the title of this book, ‘O’, captures the ’o’ in body, love, God, mother, joy, ode, home, memory, Lebanon, and other dimensions of people’s lives. She reflects on how poetry amplifies the universal moments in life in the everyday sentiments and actions of people.