Seeing for Ourselves
And Even Stranger Possibilities
Reflections on seeing and being seen.
Also available in the following bundles:
Through an Addict’s Looking-Glass
Waithera Sebatindira
Seeing for Ourselves: And Even Stranger Possibilities
Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan
The Leaf of the Neem Tree
Jamal Mehmood
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‘To read this expansive treasure of a book is to see everything differently.’ — Sabrina Mahfouz, author of These Bodies of Water
‘Moves the heart and provokes thought in equal measure.’ — Preti Taneja, author of Aftermath
Why do we yearn to be seen when we are already far too visible? How do we want to be perceived, and how are we exposed? Could we ever really see for ourselves?
In memoir, vignettes, poetry and essays, Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan records her observations from the stands at the dizzying circus of being seen and unseen. She surveys the criminalising stadium of civic life, the open-air arenas of family, friendship and grief, the performative pageantry of the public eye and the unclad secrets of the self in solitude, paying attention to what’s on show and what goes undetected.
Perhaps the strangest, most exciting possibilities are opened when we surrender to another kind of sight. Submitting to the gaze of the Unseen and the All-Seeing, Manzoor-Khan invites us to close our eyes and discover what it would mean to look with our souls instead.
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‘In her honest reflections, Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan invites readers on a spiritual journey of self-accounting, helping us to think about how we see ourselves and want to be seen … [A] short yet stunning book.’ — Middle East Eye
‘A beautiful consideration of devotion to faith, family and politics … Manzoor-Khan’s exacting thoughtfulness shines throughout.’ — The Skinny
‘To read this expansive treasure of a book is to see everything differently.’ — Sabrina Mahfouz, author of These Bodies of Water
‘A gift and a blessing for anyone who has ever faced invisibility and over-scrutiny at the same time … In these loving pages, we are encouraged to want more and see ourselves for ourselves.’ — Muneera Pilgrim, author of That Day She’ll Proclaim Her Chronicles
‘Moves the heart and provokes thought in equal measure.’ — Preti Taneja, author of Aftermath
‘A rare treat … we witness a profound thinker and remarkable poet at work.’ — Arun Kundnani, author of What Is Antiracism?
‘Utterly disruptive. With grace and vulnerability … Manzoor-Khan upends the conversation on representational politics.’ — Waithera Sebatindira, author of Through an Addict’s Looking-Glass
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REVIEW: ‘Seeing for Ourselves’: A call for inner reflection while tackling injustice — Middle East Eye
REVIEW: Seeing for Ourselves — The Skinny
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28 September 2023
Paperback / 9781914221224
ebook / 9781914221231
198 × 129 mm
164 pages