Winner of the Palestine Book Award and the American Book Award
National Book
Critics Circle Award for Poetry Finalist
Shortlisted for
the 2022 Walcott Poetry Prize
"Written
from his native Gaza, Abu Toha's accomplished debut contrasts scenes
of political violence with natural beauty."--The New York Times
In
this poetry debut Mosab Abu Toha writes about his life under siege in
Gaza, first as a child, and then as a young father. A survivor of
four brutal military attacks, he bears witness to a grinding cycle of
destruction and assault, and yet, his poetry is inspired by a
profound humanity.
These
poems emerge directly from the experience of growing up and living in
constant lockdown, and often under direct attack. Like Gaza itself,
they are filled with rubble and the ever-present menace of
surveillance drones policing a people unwelcome in their own land,
and they are also suffused with the smell of tea, roses in bloom, and
the view of the sea at sunset. Children are born, families continue
traditions, students attend university, and libraries rise from the
ruins as Palestinians go on about their lives, creating beauty and
finding new ways to survive.
Accompanied
by an in-depth interview (conducted by Ammiel Alcalay) in which Abu
Toha discusses life in Gaza, his family origins, and how he came to
poetry.