On December 9, 2011 Al-Bustan presented Suheir Hammad and the Philadelphia Arab Music Ensemble in the third concert of the Arab Music Concert Series.

Poet in an Arab Garden: Poet Suheir Hammad to perform at Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture concert
by John Timpane, Philadelphia Inquirer
published December 8, 2011

“‘We like to experiment,’ says Hanna Khoury. ‘We’re always looking for new challenges–and this one is going to be an especially interesting one.’ Khoury is music director of the Arab Music Concert Series put on by the West Philadelphia-based nonprofit Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture. Friday’s concert, at Trinity Center, 22nd and Spruce Streets, features a resident takht ensemble playing traditional Arab music, one in a series with guest soloists.”

“Friday’s guest will be not traditional musician but the much-praised Palestinian American poet Suheir Hammad. She often reads to music–but this time, she’ll deliver her distinctive, hip-hop-inflected verses, in English, in a bed of traditional Arab music.”

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