I feel that the two sections “Pot Holes” and “The Enigma of Non-Arrival” (417) very accurately describe the confusion and culture conflict faced by Arab Americans, and even minorities in general. He states that the three major factors that characterize Arab life in the US are 1) continuous contact with Arab culture through homelands 2) an ambivalent relationship with mainstream American culture, and 3) a struggle with Arab culture within the US. Coming from a culture with such an extensive historical background, it is impossible to become fully immersed in American culture without sacrificing a part of one’s identity. “…belly dancing and Kahlil Gibran are meager nourishments for cultural revival, and a subsequent engagement with the larger American culture.” It is as if he thinks some sort of artistic movement is necessary to give Arab Americans a true identity and feeling of comfort within the US. He criticizes an event in which fellow Arab American speakers “gave the usual cries of victimization” and fought for equality. Having equality or regaining rights that have been compromised will not necessarily give someone an identity, but having actual artistic foundations is what will allow members of a minority group to feel a true sense of pride and belonging on a more tangible level than having to look all the way back to traditional Arab works. Not every Arab American is born a political activist and should not have to become one in their attempt to gain an identity in the US. Art, music, and literature give inspiration on a greater, more universal level and encourage freedom and creativity. I liked this quote a lot…

“And I thought how could they, how could I be drowning here when there is so much poetry in the air, so much poetry in our blood.”

I think Lisa Majaj best describes what the plight of the third generation Arab-American poets are and what they should try to overcome with their poetry. She talks about the idea of "schism" whereby they (the poets) try to adapt to the American culture and at the same time not loose their Arab heritage, and in doing that she says that "they lose sight of the ground beneath [their] feet." On page 72, she goes on to say that because of the problems Arab-Americans are facing presently (the problem of terrorism and others)that they are instead left to defend themselves and their identity in their poetry much like Gibran did in writing about the oppression by the Ottoman Empire. "Given the political pressures facing Arab-Americans, and the omnipresent stereotypes of Arab culture, writers may feel that their task is to affirm Arab identity and to translate this identity to outsiders."

After reading Freeways and Resthouses in particular, I liked how Mattawa described the presence but at the same time the invisibility of the Arab-American in "Ode to Mejnoon". All of the authors in these pages seem to agree that the Arab-American identity needs to be about both heritages if it is to thrive. All along Mattawa's poem things are jammed in and don't make sense in relation to this character Mejnoon. She just seems to be there and do what she can in a place where everything is scrambled and crazed. What she needs is to leave that place but stay where she is, taking some things new but keeping her personal heritage with her. The main point of the poem has to be that Arab-Americans can't simply become American.

I think that these three writers would all agree with Mattaw, that Arab Americans do "have a philosophical contention with America" (412), meaning that they have this philosophical connection with America and they can use poetry to transform and strengthen this connection. Through poetry, Arab Americans can define their culture and their heritage in their own terms and bring these new definitions of their culture to light in America through poetry. By "generat[ing] new art and new models of thinking" (416), the Arab American literary identity can be altered as desired. As Majaj states, this movement towards "new thematic terrain" is necessary and will be helpful in bridging the gap between Arab and American culture. Through poetry, Arab Americans can confront the challenges of clearly viewing their own pasts and mistakes, see how they have been racialized in America and realize the "complexity of Arab-American identity" (424). Then, these two cultural identities can be "infused" in literature and and then infused in the nation of America itself.

Poetry as a homeland makes me wonder about why I view myself as I do. “But is it really you who doesn’t know or others who make you think that you do not know who you are…?” (426). The idea of a homeland does make up a lot of our identity, and if you can’t pick one, what does that make you? Why do we have to pick one homeland? Handal makes a good point of finding a homeland in poetry, but that does not really satisfy the physical need for a place to base your ideals and identity on…