Something about Living (National Book Award Winner)

by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

These poems explore Palestinian life through the lens of American language, revealing a legacy of obfuscation and erasure. This is a rallying cry and a statement of support told through poignant prose that in the end reminds readers of the important fact that love itself is a radical act.

2025 ALA Notable Book
Winner of the 2024 National Book Award for Poetry
Winner of the 2022 Akron Poetry Prize

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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629222738
Publisher:	University of Akron Press, The
Publication date:	04/02/2024
Series:	Akron Series in Poetry
Pages:	81
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.30(d)

About the Author

Lena Khalaf Tuffaha is a poet, essayist, and translator. She is the author of two books of poetry, Water & Salt (Red Hen Press) and Kaan and Her Sisters (Trio House Press 2023). She has received honors including the 2018 Washington State Book Award, the 2019 Robert Watson Literary Prize, 2020 Best of the Net for nonfiction, and the Goldstein Prize for Poetry. Tuffaha was the 2022 curator of the translation series Poems from Palestine at the Baffler magazine. She lives in Redmond, Washington, with her family.

Editorial Reviews

Tuffaha’s most recent collection is essential reading. Something About Living should be in every classroom, every library. This is a rallying cry at its most lyrical, most poignant. I can’t say it enough: you need to read this book.”
—The Poetry Question

“This superb volume sings of those determined to fight for a fairer future.” —Publishers Weekly

“Something About Living opens with a single bird and ends in a dazzling meteor shower, and in between lies something of a marvel—an electric and sobering song crackling with possibilities for a homeland fractured and besieged by Empire. Lena Khalaf Tuffaha writes, ‘Love is paying attention,’ and this impressive collection serves as a powerful exemplar of devotion—brilliantly rendered in surprising forms—and profoundly teaches us 'a million ways to love.’” —Judges’ citation, National Book Award for Poetry

From the Publisher