Today’s episode, recorded live at the 2nd annual Portland Poetry Confluence, is a conversation between two National Book Award winners, Lena Khalaf Tuffaha in poetry and Omar El Akkad in prose. We use the essay “Notes on Craft: Writing in the Hour of Genocide,” by Palestinian poet and performance artist Fargo Tbakhi, as a frame under which to look at writing at a time of great political urgency within their respective genres. Questions of audience and address, silence and silencing, gestures on the page and gestures in the world, and how to continue to make art at a time when everything is moving decidedly the wrong way. Today’s conversation was conceived by Literary Portland for Palestine and raised money for two Palestinian families supported by Creators for Gaza.

If you enjoyed today’s conversation consider supporting the Portland Poetry Confluence and Creators for Gaza in your holiday giving. And consider joining the Between the Covers community as a listener-supporter. One of many potential benefits and rewards of doing so is access to the bonus audio archive with contributions from Omar El Akkad, Isabella Hammad, Dionne Brand, Christina Sharpe, and Layli Long Soldier among many others. Find out more at the show’s Patreon page.

Lastly, here is the conversation-specific BookShop for today’s episode (and for your general book needs don’t miss Milkweed Editions’ own Bookshop).