Born in Lebanon, Rania Matar is an award winning photographer whose new book, Ordinary Lives (The Quantuck Lane Press, November 2009), captures the dichotomy of contemporary life in Lebanon. Her work focuses on the lives of the women and children who exist side by side with the uncertainties of war and violence. In his accompanying essay Anthony Shadid writes, “No one will forget the women and children in the pages that follow, the ordinary lives in times that are cursed by being anything but ordinary.” Accompanying these photographs are excerpts from the poetry of celebrated Palestinian-American author Lisa Majaj and an essay by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist Anthony Shadid.
