This collection supports and promotes awareness to the important mission and framework of the Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here Coalition's focus on the lasting power of the written word and the arts in support of the free expression of ideas, the preservation of shared cultural spaces, and the importance of responding to attacks, both overt and subtle, on artists, writers, and academics working under oppressive regimes or in zones of conflict, despite the destruction of that literary/cultural content.

Rae Trujillo received her BA from California State University Hayward with an emphasis in sculpture. Making books satisfies her interest in story-telling, and gives her passions a place to be shared. She is intrigued by structures, and likes to experiment with a variety of materials. She mingles many disciplines into one art form. She is challenged to create books that people can fall into and understand.