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 December 2025 cover, with a photo of Michael Park ’98.
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Judge Michael Park ’98; shifts in DEI initiatives; a night at the new art museum.