#hala alyan

[mournfulroses]

Hala Alyan, from The Moon That Turns You Back: Poems; "Half-Life in Exile,

[havingapoemwithyou]

half-life in exile by Hala Alyan

[geryone]

The Moon That Turns You Back, Hala Alyan

[hangsawoman]

object permanence, hala alyan

[firstfullmoon]

Hala Alyan, “Revision” (published on Nov. 6, 2023)

[schcherazades]

grief will make you do crazy things. it will electrify the elegant, flower-stem neurons in the amygdala of your brain, will pluck them like an instrument. in ancient rome, grief made men twirl in their thin, leather sandals and pirouette until their feet bled; in india, it walked widows onto pyres waiting for fire. the persians gave the bodies of their deceased beloveds to dogs; the egyptians buried them with their servants. grief will make you laugh at the funeral, weep over the cereal bowl; it will buzz your feet until they start dancing in the middle of the night. it’s grief that inspires the unlikeliest of bedfellows. it will convince you, tugging at the hem of your ragged cotton robe — the one you’ve had since your father bought it for you in latakia when you were fifteen, the one that will always smell hazily of summer — that the building is on fire, the world is on fire, and you’ll only find water in one place: a city as far away from here as you can imagine. grief will pack your bag, quit your job, buy a white dress. it will make you say yes.

the arsonists’ city, hala alyan

[soracities]

it is 1990 // my mother is crossing a border I mean desert I mean life // I am at her heels // I am paying attention // I mean I am learning to pray to a flag // I mean I am learning English // I mean I am forgetting Arabic

Hala Alyan, from "When They Say Pledge Allegiance, I Say..."

[on-poetry]

I’m here to tell you the tide will never stop coming in. I’m here to tell you whatever you build will be ruined, so make it beautiful.

“Spoiler” by Hala Alyan, The New Yorker

[wefindourselves]

Listen/purchase: The Olive Tape

The Olive Tape is a collection of new, exclusive songs & poems by 24 artists, compiled to raise funds for humanitarian aid in Palestine.

All proceeds will go to the PCRF and Anera. As of this moment, the IOF’s current assault on Rafah leaves a staggering population of over a million Palestinians trapped with nowhere to go. There’s never been a better time to give your support to notable foundations with proven track records in the area.

This tape was produced by a group of artists who care deeply and some of whom are tied personally to the occupation of Palestine.

If you have the time, at least listen give it a listen.

[sageandscorpiongrass]

Chronic.

on illness and fatigue

A Poem About Pain, David Budbill | She Used to Be Mine, Waitress | Under One Small Star, Wislawa Szymborska | Burried, Ashe Vernon | Vive, Vive, Traci Brimhall | Chronic Pain, NHS Inform | Drawing Restraints, Agnes Cecile | Half-Life in Exile, Hala Alyan | Body Terror Song, AJJ | Unknown | Battlefield, Topaz Winters | White Oleander, Janet Fitch | Boy In The Bubble, Alec Benjamin | Quote by Richard Siken | Autoimmune Disease, Anna and Elena Balbusso | In The Pines, Alice Notley | Twenty, Silas Melvin

[litbowl]

From Hala Alyan's book, The Moon That Turns You Back. (Ecco Books).

[mournfulroses]

Hala Alyan, from The Moon That Turns You Back; "Interactive Fiction: Expats,"

[havingapoemwithyou]

the interviewer wants to know about fashion by Hala Alyan

[geryone]

The Moon That Turns You Back, Hala Alyan

[fiercynn]

palestinian poets: hala alyan

poetry has been keeping me going the past week and i thought i'd share some of my favorite pieces by palestinian poets. i was originally going to repost my favorites but just realized that might not be appropriate, so instead i'm going to feature a poet in each post and share my favorite pieces by each.

HALA ALYAN

hala alyan is the author of the novel salt houses, winner of the dayton literary peace prize and the arab american book award, and a finalist for the chautauqua prize. her latest novel, the arsonists’ city, was a finalist for the 2022 aspen words literary prize. she is also the author of four award-winning collections of poetry, most recently the twenty-ninth year. her work has been published by the new yorker, the academy of american poets, lit hub, the new york times book review, and guernica. she lives in brooklyn, where she works as a clinical psychologist and professor at new york university.

IF YOU READ ONLY ONE PIECE BY HALA ALYAN, MAKE IT THIS ONE

OTHER POEMS I LOVE BY HALA ALYAN

“The Interviewer Wants to Know About Fashion” at lithub

"Interactive: House Saints" at the poetry foundation

"1999" (from her 2019 collection The Twenty-Ninth Year) at lithub

"When They Say Pledge Allegiance, I Say" at the adroit journal

[firstfullmoon]

Hala Alyan, “September, a week in”