Something about Living

It's nearly impossible to write poetry that holds the human desire for joy and the insistent agitations of protest at the same time, but Lena Khalaf Tuffaha's gorgeous and wide-ranging new collection Something About Living does just that. Her poems interweave Palestine's historic suffering, the challenges of living in this world full of violence and ill will, and the gentle delights we embrace to survive that violence. Khalaf Tuffaha's elegant poems sing the fractured songs of Diaspora while remaining clear-eyed to the cause of the fracturing: the multinational hubris of colonialism and greed. This collection is her witness to our collective unraveling, vowel by vowel, syllable by syllable. "Let the plural be a return of us" the speaker of "On the Thirtieth Friday We Consider Plurals" says and this plurality is our tenuous humanity and the deep need to hang on to kindness in our communities. In these poems Khalaf Tuffaha reminds us that love isn't an idea; it is a radical act. Especially for those who, like this poet, travel through the world vigilantly, but steadfastly remain heart first. --Adrian Matejka, author of Somebody Else Sold the World

It's nearly impossible to write poetry that holds the human desire for joy and the insistent agitations of protest at the same time, but Lena Khalaf Tuffaha's gorgeous and wide-ranging new collection Something About Living does just that. Her poems interweave Palestine's historic suffering, the challenges of living in this world full of violence and ill will, and the gentle delights we embrace to survive that violence. Khalaf Tuffaha's elegant poems sing the fractured songs of Diaspora while remaining clear-eyed to the cause of the fracturing: the multinational hubris of colonialism and greed. This collection is her witness to our collective unraveling, vowel by vowel, syllable by syllable. "Let the plural be a return of us" the speaker of "On the Thirtieth Friday We Consider Plurals" says and this plurality is our tenuous humanity and the deep need to hang on to kindness in our communities. In these poems Khalaf Tuffaha reminds us that love isn't an idea; it is a radical act. Especially for those who, like this poet, travel through the world vigilantly, but steadfastly remain heart first. --Adrian Matejka, author of Somebody Else Sold the World

Shortlisted for the PEN Heaney Prize 2025 Poetry Book Society Recommendation Something about Living is the brilliant third collection from acclaimed poet Lena Khalaf Tuffaha. It explores Palestinian life through the lens of language, revealing a legacy of obfuscation and erasure. What happens when language only permits ongoing disasters to be packaged neatly for consumption and subsequent disposal? Searing with insights from the perspective of a Palestinian in diaspora, Something about Living refuses to cede ground to nihilism and apathy, taking the reader through the difficult landscape of hope and futurity in the midst of an interminable, uncertain, and often devastating present.

Shortlisted for the PEN Heaney Prize 2025 Poetry Book Society Recommendation Something about Living is the brilliant third collection from acclaimed poet Lena Khalaf Tuffaha. It explores Palestinian life through the lens of language, revealing a legacy of obfuscation and erasure. What happens when language only permits ongoing disasters to be packaged neatly for consumption and subsequent disposal? Searing with insights from the perspective of a Palestinian in diaspora, Something about Living refuses to cede ground to nihilism and apathy, taking the reader through the difficult landscape of hope and futurity in the midst of an interminable, uncertain, and often devastating present.