They seay they are the souls of poets who cannot keep quiet because, when they were alive, they never wrote the poems they wanted to. John Berger on Cicadas

الألم ليس في الخبر الحزين الذي نقرؤه.. الألم في عجزنا عن فعل شيء.

you can also hear me, Adam Talib, and Karam chatter about Fatima Qandil & translating & publishing on August 13, register: aucegypt.zoom.us/webinar/regist…

I am the writer Omar Hamad, and I want to trade my library for a sack of flour.

“I think we all have the power / to do what we must to survive. / One day, I hope to set a table, invite you / to draw up a chair.”  — Tamiko Beyer  . . . This poem appeared in Last Days by Tamiko Beyer, published by Alice James Books, 2021. Shared here with deep gratitude.

Sitting in Palestine hearing about how South Africa has always felt neighboring is deeply profound. I grew up reading so much on SA that this is all feels. We feel a little less alone. Thanks PEN South Africa

I feel sorry for anyone that has to die. John Ashbery

“There is no freedom in fleeing, in exile. The way out is not from, but through: an escape.” -Dylan Saba (dylan saba) on Kanafani, Shakur Jackson, and Sinwar

🎥أكثر تداول شاب مصري يدعى أنس حبيب مقيم في هولندا .. نزل عند السفارة المصرية وقفل عليهم البوابة الرئيسية بقفل وحاصرها لساعتين وقالهم جربوا الحصار ... مطالباً بفتح معبر رفح، ولم يستطيعوا الخروج إلا بعد تدخل الشرطة -بقية المشاهد في أول تعليق 🧵

"And yet I persist. I speak. I write. Because silence would be a deeper form of defeat. Testimony, even if cracked and uncertain, is the only offering I can still give. To keep it locked inside would be to let this hunger consume even the voice that names it."

Pro tip: Always carry a book.

“I am interested in language because it wounds or seduces me.” ― Roland Barthes

Today on ArabLit: arablit.org/2025/07/28/wri…

Famine by Design is a beautiful poem by a very talented young poet, going through a genocide and famine.

It's here! Over 150 calls for literary competitions & submissions incl. poetry, fiction, creative nonfiction, art, photography & more - contests, literary journals, residencies, bursaries etc - open or with deadlines in August 2025. Good luck & pls share. thisiswordbox.com/wordbox-blog/w…

— Anne Sexton