New Poetry in Mondoweiss’s Beit

I came across “How to be Perfect” by Ron Padgett, and one of the lines was a command to “make eye contact with a tree.” And so, because I was outside, I looked up at the rustling tree branches and made eye contact, and thought, what on earth does that mean? Then, I remembered that I have experienced this eye contact on a deeper level … Continue reading New Poetry in Mondoweiss’s Beit

Who Will Be Left to Warn?

“In the photograph, the woman’s back is to the house, maybe her house. I wonder how many generations walked in and out of that house. I wonder what her morning routine around the house was. It reminds me of my maternal grandparents’ home, inviting with the openness around it. The road she stands in front of leading up to the house looks familiar, even though … Continue reading Who Will Be Left to Warn?

Household Names

Something that’s on my mind more often than not are names – the names we hold, the names we give ourselves, but also, the names we come to familiarity with because of…circumstance, history, media, and they become a part of our conversations. Check out my latest piece published in The Heritage Journal titled Household Names here: https://digitalcommons.providence.edu/heritage/vol4/iss1/8/ If you aren’t familiar with the journal, do … Continue reading Household Names

What To Do in Freedom

In the past couple of weeks I’ve been in Palestine after three years of being away, I’ve been taking mental notes about the changes brought about by time. Whatever quiet moment I have, I have been in reflection. I’ve written phrases down – to meditate on later – and realize that it all feels urgent to write at this moment, but this moment feels to … Continue reading What To Do in Freedom

CPS x LIFTA: Love & Intimacy Video Series

As part of ‘Palestine, IN-BETWEEN’, CPS x LIFTA presents a LOVE & INTIMACY video series, my friend Lina Abdul-Samad and I had a conversation about love, intimacy, and Palestine. “In this episode, we meet Lina, 25, and Hasheemah, 27. Lina is based in Surda, Palestine and Hasheemah is living in New Orleans, Louisiana. They met in a calculus class more than ten years ago and … Continue reading CPS x LIFTA: Love & Intimacy Video Series

Contemplating Justice at A Junction

Shado Mag commissioned this piece in November, a month after the first anniversary of the Hard Rock Hotel. I wrote it after I noticed Bumble ads propped up around the construction site. It was odd to see messages of love in a public space that embodied the opposite. In the piece, I explore that and more. Check it out here: https://shado-mag.com/all/contemplating-justice-at-a-junction/ Image by Cindy Kang. Continue reading Contemplating Justice at A Junction

Dispatches of Silence: A Project Documenting Our Current Situation

Early on during the pandemic, when we were all unsure about what we’d be facing and for how long, I noticed how quiet it was outside – a suburban quietness that was quite odd for a place like the French Quarter. I called up two friends and as we spoke, they, too commented on the quietness of their surroundings. About ten days later, in early … Continue reading Dispatches of Silence: A Project Documenting Our Current Situation