March 27, 2025
7:00-8:00 PM

Edward Said wrote in Culture & Imperialism, “Just as none of us is outside or beyond geography, none of us is completely free from the struggle over geography. That struggle is complex and interesting because it is not only about soldiers and cannons but also about ideas, about forms, about images and imaginings,” contending that Western literature and media are just as much tools of conquest as weapons. This workshop will examine contemporary poetry from the long-colonized Levant to teach us about countering colonialist narratives and shaping anti-imperialist futures. We’ll look to Palestinian and Lebanese poets, such as Mahmoud Darwish, Hedy Habra, Fady Joudah, Hala Alyan, Refaat Alareer, and Maya Abu Al-Hayyat, to discover verse as a vehicle of resistance, archival, dignity, and liberation, and as a tether to homelands under siege.

April 9, 2025
5:00-6:00 PM