{"id":6291,"date":"2024-01-05T13:34:52","date_gmt":"2024-01-05T18:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/?post_type=product&p=6291"},"modified":"2025-10-28T10:05:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-28T14:05:22","slug":"something-about-living","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/product\/something-about-living\/","title":{"rendered":"Something About Living"},"content":{"rendered":"

Something About Living <\/span><\/em>explores<\/span> Palestinian life through the lens of American language<\/span>,<\/span> reveal<\/span>ing<\/span> a<\/span> legacy of obfuscation and erasure<\/span>. <\/span>What happens when language only <\/span>permits<\/span> ongoing <\/span>disasters <\/span>to be <\/span>packaged neatly for consumption and<\/span> subsequent<\/span> disposal<\/span>?<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

About the author<\/h2>\n

Lena Khalaf <\/span>Tuffaha<\/span> is a poet, <\/span>essayist<\/span> and translator. She is author of three books of poetry: <\/span><\/span>Something About Living <\/span><\/span><\/em>(University of Akron Press, 2024), winner of the 2024 National Book Award for Poetry and the 2022 Akron Poetry Prize;<\/span><\/span> Kaan & Her Sisters<\/span><\/span><\/em> (Trio House Press), finalist for the 2024 Firecracker Award and honorable mention for the 2024 Arab American Book Award; and <\/span><\/span>Water & Salt<\/span><\/span><\/em> (Red Hen), winner of the 2018 Washington State Book Award and honorable mention of the 2018 Arab American Book Award. She is also the author of two chapbooks, <\/span><\/span>Arab in <\/span>Newsland<\/span><\/em>, <\/span><\/span>winner of the 2016 Two Sylvias Prize, and <\/span><\/span>Letters from the Interior <\/span><\/span><\/em>(Diode, 2019), finalist for the 2020 Jean Pedrick Chapbook Prize. For more about her work, visit <\/span><\/span>www.lenakhalaftuffaha.com<\/span><\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Praise for Something About Living<\/em><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s nearly impossible to write poetry that holds the human desire for joy and the insistent agitations of protest at the same time, but Lena Khalaf Tuffaha\u2019s gorgeous and wide-ranging new collection <\/span>Something About Living<\/span><\/i> does just that. Her poems interweave Palestine\u2019s historic suffering, the challenges of living in this world full of violence and ill will, and the gentle delights we embrace to survive that violence. Khalaf Tuffaha\u2019s elegant poems sing the fractured songs of Diaspora while remaining clear-eyed to the cause of the fracturing: the multinational hubris of colonialism and greed. This collection is her witness to our collective unraveling, vowel by vowel, syllable by syllable. \u201cLet the plural be a return of us\u201d the speaker of \u201cOn the Thirtieth Friday We Consider Plurals\u201d says and this plurality is our tenuous humanity and the deep need to hang on to kindness in our communities. In these poems Khalaf Tuffaha reminds us that love isn\u2019t an idea; it is a radical act. Especially for those who, like this poet, travel through the world vigilantly, but steadfastly remain heart first.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2014Adrian Matejka, author of Somebody Else Sold the World<\/i>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Media<\/h2>\n

“Tuffaha\u2019s most recent collection is essential reading.\u00a0Something About Living\u00a0<\/i>should be in every classroom, every library. This is a rallying cry at its most lyrical, most poignant. I can\u2019t say it enough: you need to read this book.” \u2014The Poetry Question<\/a><\/p>\n

“This superb volume sings of those determined to fight for a fairer future.” \u2014Publishers Weekly<\/a><\/p>\n

“There is no consolation in\u00a0Something About Living<\/em>, which hums with all of love\u2019s lucidity, commitment, and courage.”\u2014Robin Myers, Poetry Northwest<\/a><\/p>\n

“Khalaf Tuffaha also believes in the power of writing to challenge a reader, and through discomfort grow their world.”\u2014Summer Farrah, Publishers Weekly<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Interview<\/a> with Anna Rajagopal at Institute for Palestine Studies.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Lena Khalaf Tuffaha<\/span><\/p>\n

Winner of the 2024 National Book Award for Poetry<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

2025 American Library Association Notable Book for Poetry<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Winner of the 2025 Washington State Book Award for Poetry<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

2025 Arab American Book Award Winner (George Ellenbogen Poetry Award)<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Winner of the 2022 Akron Poetry Prize<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Size: 6 x 9<\/span><\/p>\n

Page count: 81<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":6454,"template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[98295,83887,80162],"product_tag":[97247,96187,98482,98480,98481,98479,98478,211,98431],"class_list":{"0":"post-6291","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-akron-poetry-prize-winners","7":"product_cat-akron-series-in-poetry","8":"product_cat-forthcoming-books","9":"product_tag-akron-poetry-prize-winner","10":"product_tag-akron-series-in-poetry-law","11":"product_tag-belonging","12":"product_tag-diaspora","13":"product_tag-freedom","14":"product_tag-memory","15":"product_tag-palestine","16":"product_tag-poetry","17":"product_tag-women-authors","19":"first","20":"instock","21":"shipping-taxable","22":"product-type-simple"},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product\/6291","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/product"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"product_brand","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_brand?post=6291"},{"taxonomy":"product_cat","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_cat?post=6291"},{"taxonomy":"product_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.uakron.edu\/uapress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/product_tag?post=6291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}