Lena Khalaf Tuffaha and So Mayer: Something About Living

About this episode

Lena Khalaf Tuffaha discusses her poetry reflecting on her heritage and experiences as a first-generation American immigrant with So Mayer.

ena Khalaf Tuffaha was born in Seattle but grew up in Saudi Arabia and Jordan, and her poetry reflects on her Palestinian, Jordanian and Syrian heritage and on her experience as a first-generation American immigrant. In Something About Living (the87press), winner of the National Book Award in 2024, her poems interweave the history of Palestinian suffering and resistance with the challenges of living in a world full of violence and the gentle pleasures we embrace in order to survive that violence. Tuffaha will be reading from her work, and discussing it with writer, bookseller and film curator So Mayer, whose most recent book is Bad Language.

People in this episode

Guests: Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, So Mayer

Topics covered

• poetry
• immigration
• Palestinian heritage
• resistance
• violence
• literature

Keywords

• Lena Khalaf Tuffaha
• So Mayer
• poetry
• Palestinian
• immigrant
• National Book Award
• literature

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: the87press

Books & works: Something About Living

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