By the end of the day, what had once been the English department lay beneath a heap of rubble…
As we spoke, I could hear the buzzing of drones and explosions in the background. The dark music woke hideous memories…
What I try to convince myself of is that this is temporary, and one day the hope of peace will shine on every roofless house in my country.
Enforced social distancing and isolation are something my family and I have endured most of our lives.
I sometimes ask myself: “Would it be possible for one to create their memories in different places?”
My friends who write in Arabic refuse to call what I write in Arabic “poetry.”
I think I should keep my clothes on while having a shower. Or maybe not?
Mosab Abu Toha is a Palestinian poet, fiction writer, and essayist from Gaza. He is the founder of the Edward Said Public Library, and in 2019-2020 was a visiting poet and scholar at Harvard University. He gave talks and poetry readings at the University of Pennsylvania, Temple University, the University of Arizona (w/ Noam Chomsky), and the American Library Association conference. His work has appeared in Poetry, The Nation, Solstice, Arrowsmith, Progressive Librarian Guild, among others. Mosab is the author of Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear: Poems from Gaza, forthcoming from City Lights Books in April 2022.