Lena Khalaf Tuffaha — Dukka

About this episode

Lena Khalaf Tuffaha's poem 'Dukka' explores the multifaceted nature of love amidst adversity.

Loving in the face of violence, danger, and distress is an act of defiance, as demonstrated in Lena Khalaf Tuffaha’s achingly beautiful poem “Dukka”. The Palestinian American writer spotlights seven aspects of love in action — between father and newborn, for example, a journalist and her audience, a pair of intimates dining out. She shows us the “million ways to love” flowing through her community and cascading through generations, centuries, millennia, as inexorable and constant as the ocean and as bright and surprising as a rare meteor shower. We invite you to subscribe to Pádraig’s weekly Poetry Unbound Substack, read the Poetry Unbound books and his newest work, Kitchen Hymns, or listen to all our Poetry Unbound episodes.

People in this episode

Guest: Lena Khalaf Tuffaha

Topics covered

• love
• violence
• community
• poetry
• Palestinian American experience

Keywords

• defiance
• fatherhood
• journalism
• intimacy
• generational love

Mentioned in this episode

Products: Kitchen Hymns, Poetry Unbound Substack

Books & works: Dukka, Poetry Unbound Substack, Poetry Unbound, Kitchen Hymns

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