MSI Press Blog

  Today's story behind the book gives a look behind the scenes at  Thoughts without a Title , edited by Dr. Geri Henderson. From the Publisher This unique book was a project at the New York Institute of Technology in Amman, Jordan. Students in writing courses were given the opportunity to submit work for this book. The best entries were selected for publication; all selections had to meet general professional writing requirements. Geri, as one of the literature professors worked with each student at professionalizing his/her contribution. The students collectively determined the title. The art department offered the same opportunity to art students. The artwork served as illustrations for the essays and poems. One of the students provided the cover graphic. The dean at the time (now the managing editor of MSI Press) led students through the process of publication. It was a deep learning experience for each of them. The book is also unique in that it reflects Eastern-Weste...

  Excerpt from Thoughts without a Title , edited by Geri Henderson. The Forest Whispers My Name  by Yousef Belbeisi When my thoughts weigh heavy with the burden of time,  I walk in the dim-lit forest, wasting precious time. I hear my name being whispered in the wind, It’s saying “You are needed here once again.” An eagle cries among the trees. Its scream shivers along my skin, Like raking claws along dead prey. These whispering voices talk of my fate. The howling wolves at midnight day, The dim light of the moon becomes my dead lights. It shines on me wherever I go. It claims my soul never leaving me alone. I raise my hands to the naked dark sky. I feel myself being lifted to far away places,  Now traveling lifetimes, Never being able to stop.  And finally, I see the face of God. ---- Paperback copies available at MSI Press webstore . Use coupon code FF25 for 25% discount. For more posts about this book, click  HERE . For more book excerpts, click  HER...

   Excerpt from Thoughts without a Title (Henderson, editor) --  The Tale of Fuzz  Betty Lou Leaver Once upon a time in the wooded mountains of California, not all that far from the ocean but far enough not to know that it existed, there was born a little kitten. He had beautiful markings but never knew because he had no family to admire him. His hair was long and curly, and he had a very bushy tail. He looked like a ball of fuzz, but he did not know because he had no family to tell him.  One day, when he was only a few weeks old and alone except for the remains of his mother, who had become a meal for a hungry coyote, he ventured forth in search of safer lands and in search of food and water for he was, indeed, hungry and thirsty.  Before very long, he reached a river in the woods, a deep, cool river, and he drank from it thirstily. Near the river, he saw a quaint little cabin, and through the window he saw two children looking at a box that ...

Dr. Geri Henderson considers herself, first and foremost, a teacher and mentor but loves her roles as sister, aunt, and friend.  Geri has taught in a number of places such as the Caribbean, Jordan, Bahrain, LIthuania, Lebanon, Japan, Korea, and the US.  Her interests include a passion for music which she studied and subsequently taught for 30 years before beginning her second professional career in higher education. She is probably teaching literature and writing somewhere in the world right now. Her first book with MSI Press,   Thoughts without a Title , was edited while she was teaching in the Middle East and contains the stories and essays of Middle Eastern college students and their views of the world. Her second book, co-authored with Seanne Emerton,   Healing from Incest: Intimate Conversations with My Therapist , is gathering 5-star reviews and was selected as a 2015 Book of the Year Award Finalist. Her most recent book was written together with R...

This book is a collection of short stories, poetry, and dramatic essays, written by students and faculty of the New York Institute of Technology in Amman, Jordan, a rich mix of Arab and American authors, reflecting on experiences in the Middle East and elsewhere. To see other works by Dr. Geri Henderson, click HERE . Available from MSI Press webstore .