Celebrate Palestinian Culture, Poetry, and Love at Open Books: A Poem Emporium This Valentine's Day

Open Books: A Poem Emporium in Pioneer Square wants to celebrate love and works from its 2024 Year in Palestinian Poetry monthly subscription. On Valentine's Day, the small but bustling poetry bookstore and community space will host Love Letters in the Slanted Season — A Celebration of Palestinian Poetry featuring Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, poet, translator, and essayist who has been nominated for a National Book Award for Poetry, and Tatreez artist Hala Saleh.

Tuffaha served as curator of the monthly Palestinian poetry bundles "that feature[d] a mix of collections spanning poetic ages, original languages, and diverse styles. In other words: new books, books from eons ago, books in translation, and books that may challenge your expectations of what poetry is and can be," according to the Open Books website. Subscribers received an original Tatreez (a traditional form of Palestinian embroidery) bookmark created by Saleh. Tatreez motifs traditionally tell a story, and reflect the artist's connection to historical events, their land, and memory.

"The subscription package was born spontaneously from the intensifying Gaza genocide, and Open Books wanted to offer something monthly that would celebrate Palestinian culture, art, literature, and life, understanding that the conversation is ongoing, deeply rooted in culture that is still sustaining life," says Billie Swift, the owner of Open Books.

Attendees of the event should expect to hear readings from the works of renowned poets like Mahmoud Darwish and Ibrahim Nasrallah, as well as poems from contemporaries like George Abraham and Deema K. Shehabi.

Though the 2024 Year in Palestinian Poetry subscription is over, Tuffaha and Saleh will share reflections about their selection and design process at today's event, and attendees will have an opportunity to fundraise for the Gaza Poets Society by purchasing a special Valentine's Day bundle.

"We'll have a sale at Friday's event, which will feature the wonderful anthology We Call to the Eye & the Night: Love Poems by Writers of Arab Heritage. We'll offer this anthology alongside a beautiful card featuring a Tatreez design chosen by Hala Saleh, and some lines from Lena Khalaf Tuffaha from a poem included in the anthology," Billie shares.

Love Letters in a Slanted Season is a free event that will take place at 7 p.m. on Feb. 14 at Open Books: A Poem Emporium; no registration or ticket purchase necessary. Open Books also houses the Workshops for Gaza Bookstore.