Blood is Blood is a collaborative book-length poem for two voices, dealing with the bloodshed in the Middle East, a version of which was commissioned for CBC Radio in 2006. Souaid, of Christian Lebanese descent, and Farkas, the child of Jewish Holocaust survivors, give this piece a special resonance.

Blood is Blood is a powerful encounter between two poets, from diametrically opposed backgrounds, whose cultural and personal lives intersect, clash and confront the truths and fictions that have become the destructive reality of Jews and Arabs trying to co-exist in the Middle East. Artistically, it is an innovative tapestry of images, sound and text that challenges viewers to confront their own attitudes about this volatile relationship and conflict in general.

Although set in the troubled Middle East, its narrative speaks to tribal wars that have wreaked havoc around the globe: in Ireland, in the former Yugoslavia, in Russia, in Darfur, in Zimbabwe, and elsewhere.

Here in the multicultural West, it is easy to slip into apathy, to feel that there is nothing one can do, nothing one needs to do to initiate change where change is due. But Souaid and Farkas believe that all artists, not only those from the affected regions, should be engaged in the dialogue that unfolds on the international stage.

The 15-minute video-poem included in the book is a powerful visual interpretation of the text.

Visit www.bloodisblood.com for teaching guides, news, and to see other versions of the poem in its early and developmental stages.