As the author Atef Abu Saif recently reminded us, “people often say that Gaza exports oranges and short stories.” Despite decades of siege and blockade, Gaza has maintained a vibrant literary life and extraordinarily high literacy and educational levels—now threatened because of the destruction of Gaza’s schools. Yet authors have continued to write: urgently, sharply, with clear vision.
In our “where I write now” series, we asked authors to describe their current surroundings; poet-journalist Husam Maarouf writes about what Gazans read during war; and many writers share their poems and reflections. Some of this work has been collected into our “Gaza! Gaza! Gaza!” issue or the free zine And Still We Write. More can be found below.
From ‘My Butterfly That Does Not Die’
Refaat Al Areer had set the scene, declaring, “If I must die,” and Alaa Al Qatarawi’s sorrow metamorphosed into a butterfly that perseveres. She writes, “If I die, my butterfly does not die.” ...
‘A New Year in Gaza’: By Ibrahim Nasrallah
The people named in this poem are the writers, painters, and musicians martyred in the genocide. They are only a few of the many artists who were martyred in the past two years of war against Gaza ...
‘What have I survived’: New Poetry by Mahmoud Alshaer
"I survived—came out of yesterday / alive, carried out on the shoulders / of the wind." ...
Books as Breath: Gaza’s Living Story
Salah and Abdullah's small bookshop in Nuseirat is a testament to the power of literature. A model of Palestinian endurance ...
Shrinking Language, Bursting Memory
"Under siege, time is stolen piece by piece, and language shrinks to match the narrow space it is allowed. People abandon long sentences because every additional word must justify the power it consumes, the battery it drains, the risk it takes in that particular minute." ...
