2/14: Love Letters in the Slanted Season — A Celebration of Palestinian Poetry, 7pm

Featuring Lena Khalaf Tuffaha & Hala Saleh

7pm at Open Books

“the way love takes you inside its slanted season” — Nathalie Khankan

We can’t stop thinking about the books from last year’s Palestinian poetry subscription, so we decided to have a reading to celebrate them together! On Valentine’s Day, join us to share the love, to read from twelve months-worth of exquisite poems with the series curator Lena Khalaf Tuffaha and Tatreez artist Hala Saleh. And because love is a verb, there will be an opportunity to raise funds for Gaza Poets Society as well.

You'll also have the chance to purchase a special Valentine's Day offering: a copy of We Call to the Eye & the Night: Love Poems by Writers of Arab Heritage alongside a beautiful handmade card. The card features a Zatreez design chosen by Hala Saleh and poetry by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha.

Hala Saleh is a Tatreez practitioner who lives in the Seattle area. Hala practices the art of Tatreez both as a way to connect to her Palestinian heritage and culture, but also as a way to resist the erasure of Palestinian identity. Hala runs a local Tatreez circle for Palestinians (Seattle Resistance Tatreez), and teaches Tatreez with her good friend Sabrene Odeh.

Lena Khalaf Tuffaha is a poet, essayist, and translator. She is author of three books of poetry: Something About Living (UAkron, 2024), winner of the 2024 National Book Award and winner of the 2022 Akron Prize for Poetry, Kaan & Her Sisters (Trio House Press), finalist for the 2024 Firecracker Award and honorable mention for the 2024 Arab American Book Award, Water & Salt (Red Hen), winner of the 2018 Washington State Book Award and honorable mention for the 2018 Arab American Award. She is also the author of two chapbooks, Arab in Newsland, winner of the 2016 Two Sylvias Prize, and Letters from the Interior (Diode, 2019), finalist for the 2020 Jean Pedrick Chapbook Prize.

** Masks required for all public events at Open Books **