Into Each Room We Enter Without Knowing

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By Charif Shanahan ’05

Published March 30, 2017

In his debut book of poetry, Into Each Room We Enter Without Knowing (Southern Illinois University Press), Charif Shanahan ’05 explores what it means to be fully human in our wounded and divided world. In these lyric poems, Shanahan confronts the challenges of a complex cultural inheritance, informed by colonialism and his mother’s immigration to the United States from Morocco, navigating racial constructs, sexuality, family, and the globe.

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PAW's July/August 2025 issue cover, featuring a photo of people dressed in orange and black, marching in the P-rade, and the headline: Reunions, Back in Orange & Black.
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July 2025

On the cover: Wilton Virgo ’00 and his classmates celebrate during the P-rade.