BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//wp-events-plugin.com//7.2.3.1//EN TZID:America/Detroit X-WR-TIMEZONE:America/Detroit BEGIN:VEVENT UID:34293@arabamerica.com DTSTART;TZID=America/Detroit:20250512T190000 DTEND;TZID=America/Detroit:20250512T203000 DTSTAMP:20250413T210430Z URL:https://www.arabamerica.com/events/lena-khalaf-tuffaha-with-gabrielle- bates-something-about-living-poems/ SUMMARY:Lena Khalaf Tuffaha with Gabrielle Bates — 'Something About Livin g: Poems' DESCRIPTION:LAKE FOREST PARK\, WA\nTuffaha's poems interweave Palestine’s historic suffering\, the challenges of living in this world full of viole nce and ill will\, and the gentle delights we embrace to survive that viol ence\nThird Place Books is honored to welcome Lena Khalaf Tuffaha to our L ake Forest Park store for a reading and discussion about Something About L iving\, winner of the 2024 National Book Award for Poetry.\n\nTuffaha will be joined in conversation by poet Gabrielle Bates\, author of Judas Goat. This event is free and open to the public.\n\n“Something About Living o pens with a single bird and ends in a dazzling meteor shower\, and in betw een lies something of a marvel—an electric and sobering song crackling w ith possibilities for a homeland fractured and besieged by Empire. Lena Kh alaf Tuffaha writes\, ‘Love is paying attention\,’ and this impressive collection serves as a powerful exemplar of devotion—brilliantly render ed in surprising forms—and profoundly teaches us 'a million ways to love .’”\n—Judges’ citation\, National Book Award for Poetry\n\nFor imp ortant updates\, RSVP is highly recommended in advance. This event will in clude a public signing and time for audience Q&\;A. Sustain our author series by purchasing a copy of the featured book!\n\nThis event is in part nership with MENA Heritage Month. Join us in coming together with the Midd le Eastern &\; North Africa community to celebrate and share our variou s cultures\, in April 2025 and beyond\n\nHaving trouble registering? See E ventbrite's troubleshooting FAQ here.\n\nTickets:\nThis event is free to a ttend. RSVP is recommended in advance.\nAbout Something About Living. . .\ n2025 ALA Notable Book\nWinner of the 2024 National Book Award for Poetry\ nWinner of the 2022 Akron Poetry Prize\n\nIt’s nearly impossible to writ e 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 wid e-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 embr ace to survive that violence. Khalaf Tuffaha’s elegant poems sing the fr actured songs of Diaspora while remaining clear-eyed to the cause of the f racturing: the multinational hubris of colonialism and greed.\n\nThis coll ection is her witness to our collective unraveling\, vowel by vowel\, syll able 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 co mmunities. 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\, t ravel through the world vigilantly\, but steadfastly remain heart first. —Adrian Matejka\, author of Somebody Else Sold the World\n\nLena Khalaf Tuffaha is a poet\, essayist\, and translator. She is the author of three books of poetry: Something About Living (UAkron\, 2024)\, winner of the 20 24 National Book Award and winner of the 2022 Akron Prize for Poetry\; Kaa n &\; Her Sisters (Trio House Press\, 2023)\, finalist for the 2024 Fir ecracker Award and honorable mention for the 2024 Arab American Book Award \; and Water &\; Salt (Red Hen\, 2017)\, winner of the 2018 Washington State Book Award and honorable mention for the 2018 Arab American Award. H er writing has appeared in journals including Los Angeles Review of Books\ , Michigan Quarterly Review\, the Nation\, Poets.org\, Protean\, Prairie S chooner\, and many others. Tuffaha’s work has also been anthologized wid ely\, including in The Long Devotion (Georgia Press)\, We Call to the Eye and the Night (Persea Press)\, and Gaza Unsilenced (Just World Books). She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington and an MFA from Pacific Lutheran University’s Rainier Wri ting Workshop. Tuffaha lives with her family in Redmond\, Washington.\n\nG abrielle Bates is the author of the poetry collection Judas Goat (Tin Hous e\, 2023)\, a New York TimesBook Review 'The Shortlist' pick and a Chicago Review of Books 'must-read' book of 2023. Originally from Birmingham\, Al abama\, Bates currently lives in Seattle\, where she works for Open Books: A Poem Emporium\, co-hosts the podcast The Poet Salon\, and teaches occas ionally through universities and arts organizations. A Ruth Lilly and Doro thy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellowship finalist\, her work has been featu red in the New Yorker\, Poem-a-Day\, Ploughshares\, The Slowdown show\, an d elsewhere. On Twitter: @GabrielleBates.\nAbout Third Place Books\nFounde d in 1998 in Lake Forest Park\, Washington\, Third Place Books is dedicate d to the creation of a community around books and the ideas inside them. W ith locations in Lake Forest Park and Seattle's Ravenna and Seward Park ne ighborhoods\, Third Place Books is proud to serve the entire Seattle metro area. Learn more about their event series at thirdplacebooks.com/events. ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://www.arabamerica.com/wp-content/uploads/2 025/04/Screenshot-2025-04-13-at-5.11.47 PM.png LOCATION:Third Place Books\, 17171 Bothell Way\, Lake Forest Park\, WA\, 98 155\, United States GEO:47.75401;-122.280368 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=17171 Bothell Way\, Lake Fo rest Park\, WA\, 98155\, United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=100;X-TITLE=Third Pl ace Books:geo:47.75401,-122.280368 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Detroit X-LIC-LOCATION:America/Detroit BEGIN:DAYLIGHT DTSTART:20250309T030000 TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0400 TZNAME:EDT END:DAYLIGHT END:VTIMEZONE END:VCALENDAR