This collection of poems by young Gazan poet Mosab Abu Toha will mark the beginning of the “Necessary Poetry” collection published by Ediciones del Oriente y del Mediterráneo. It is a book which refuses to stand down, in which pain, tenderness, rage and resilience (“sumud” in Arabic) are turned into a poem that strikes our consciences, leaving no room for indifference.

Mosab Abu Toha (Gaza, 1992), a poet, essayist and journalist, and the founder and director of the Edward Said Library in Gaza, is considered to be one of the leading figures in Palestinian poetry from his generation.

Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear is a collection of poems written during the sieges which Gaza has endured since 2001 (2008, 2012, 2014, 2021). His poetry is rooted within the history of Palestine before and after the Nakba in 1948, lived by Abu Toha’s family and passed down from one generation to the next.

Abu Toha has provided detailed descriptions of the abduction and torture which he suffered at the hands of the Israeli army along with 400 other Palestinians in November 2023, as he was on his way to the Rafah crossing with his wife and children, after the United States had cleared their departure. The international uproar by colleagues, the International PEN Club, The New Yorker and online activism by his readers led to his liberation.

This book was the only thing that Abu Toha was able to salvage upon leaving Gaza, where he hopes to return home, like thousands of other Palestinians. If, as Celaya wrote, poetry is a weapon loaded with the future, Mosab Abu Toha’s poetry proclaims his struggle and hope.

Accompanying the author will be Ana Rossetti, a playwright, poet and short story writer. The event will be introduced by Karim Hauser, coordinator of Casa Árabe’s Cultural Programs.

You can watch the event live on YouTube