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Heaven Looks Like Us: Palestinian Poetry
An anthology of contemporary poetry connecting Palestinians across generations, languages, and borders.
Poetry has always served as a mode of resistance in Palestinian culture. In defiance of dispossession and decades of military siege, of a nakba that never ended, of historical and cultural obfuscation, of unrelenting violence and thousands of martyred people, the “power to narrate,” as Edward Said wrote, remains a necessary tool for self-determination. The poems collected here reclaim that power, bridging borders, languages, and generations to forge new conversations around resistance and liberation.
As Palestinian history remains haunted by exile, violence, and grief, so, too, are the poems in this anthology. And yet, editors George Abraham and Noor Hindi present these realities alongside other themes that are also queer and feminist perspectives, eco-poetry, meditations on love and time, and lineages of protest. This anthology dares to imagine a future beyond a nation-state for Palestinian people everywhere. Contributors include Refaat Alareer, Mahmoud Darwish, Naomi Shihab Nye, Mohammed El-Kurd, A.D. Lauren-Abunassar, Tarik Dobbs, and many other voices, both established and ascending.
Heaven Looks Like Us is a battle-cry against the annihilation of a people. It’s also a love letter to Palestinian ancestors, their descendants, and their land, to all anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggles, to a history that will never be forgotten, and to a future in which there thrives a free, free Palestine.
Poetry has always served as a mode of resistance in Palestinian culture. In defiance of dispossession and decades of military siege, of a nakba that never ended, of historical and cultural obfuscation, of unrelenting violence and thousands of martyred people, the “power to narrate,” as Edward Said wrote, remains a necessary tool for self-determination. The poems collected here reclaim that power, bridging borders, languages, and generations to forge new conversations around resistance and liberation.
As Palestinian history remains haunted by exile, violence, and grief, so, too, are the poems in this anthology. And yet, editors George Abraham and Noor Hindi present these realities alongside other themes that are also queer and feminist perspectives, eco-poetry, meditations on love and time, and lineages of protest. This anthology dares to imagine a future beyond a nation-state for Palestinian people everywhere. Contributors include Refaat Alareer, Mahmoud Darwish, Naomi Shihab Nye, Mohammed El-Kurd, A.D. Lauren-Abunassar, Tarik Dobbs, and many other voices, both established and ascending.
Heaven Looks Like Us is a battle-cry against the annihilation of a people. It’s also a love letter to Palestinian ancestors, their descendants, and their land, to all anti-colonial and anti-imperialist struggles, to a history that will never be forgotten, and to a future in which there thrives a free, free Palestine.
368 pages, Paperback
First published May 13, 2025
30 people are currently reading
531 people want to read
About the author
George Abraham
14 books24 followersGeorge Abraham (they/هو) is a Palestinian American poet, essayist, critic, performance artist. They are the author of When the Arab Apocalypse Comes to America (Haymarket, 2026) and Birthright (Button Poetry, 2020), which won the Arab American Book Award and was a Lambda Literary Award finalist. They are the executive editor of Mizna, and co-editor of HEAVEN LOOKS LIKE US: Palestinian Poetry (Haymarket, 2025). They are a graduate of Northwestern’s Litowitz MFA+MA program, and teach at Amherst College as a Writer-in-Residence.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 8, 2025
Sealey Challenge 2025: 4/31
Bringing together the work of Palestinian poets from across generations and geographies, this anthology highlights a shared history while also embracing the vast differences in lived experience. This anthology opens with a striking introduction that perfectly captures its essence: "It does not seek to represent, but instead seeks to complicate, trouble, unsettle, and (dare we say) terrorize." That sentiment rings true throughout this collection.
The themes explored here are as varied as the contributors themselves — ranging from exile, imprisonment, and displacement to love, longing, queerness, family, and grief. Palestine, both as a place and a symbol, is ever-present. Even when not explicitly named, it lingers in the language, in the memory, in the ache. One of the most haunting aspects of the collection is the awareness of how long the Palestinian struggle has affected generations of Palestinians and this collection speaks volumes about the cyclical nature of oppression, resistance, and survival. Some poems date as far back as the 1950s, while others were written as recently as 2023, creating a timeline that underscores the long-standing, ongoing nature of the Palestinian struggle. The poems evoke Palestine not only as a homeland but also as an idea — a spiritual and cultural presence that shapes identity and imagination.
The strength of this anthology lies in its breadth, but that also means not every poem or poetic style will resonate equally. As is often the case with collections of this size, some pieces leave a stronger impression than others. Still, there are undeniably powerful moments and unforgettable lines throughout with poems that demand re-reading, reflection, and deep emotional engagement. The editorial work by Noor Hindi and George Abraham also deserves mention. The poems are thoughtfully grouped, and there’s a clear intention behind the sequencing that adds cohesion to what could have easily been an overwhelming range of voices. Their care in curating the collection helps guide the reader through these complex narratives.
While not every poem was equally impactful for me, the anthology as a whole is a meaningful, necessary contribution and one that unsettles, educates, and resonates long after the final page.
Bringing together the work of Palestinian poets from across generations and geographies, this anthology highlights a shared history while also embracing the vast differences in lived experience. This anthology opens with a striking introduction that perfectly captures its essence: "It does not seek to represent, but instead seeks to complicate, trouble, unsettle, and (dare we say) terrorize." That sentiment rings true throughout this collection.
The themes explored here are as varied as the contributors themselves — ranging from exile, imprisonment, and displacement to love, longing, queerness, family, and grief. Palestine, both as a place and a symbol, is ever-present. Even when not explicitly named, it lingers in the language, in the memory, in the ache. One of the most haunting aspects of the collection is the awareness of how long the Palestinian struggle has affected generations of Palestinians and this collection speaks volumes about the cyclical nature of oppression, resistance, and survival. Some poems date as far back as the 1950s, while others were written as recently as 2023, creating a timeline that underscores the long-standing, ongoing nature of the Palestinian struggle. The poems evoke Palestine not only as a homeland but also as an idea — a spiritual and cultural presence that shapes identity and imagination.
The strength of this anthology lies in its breadth, but that also means not every poem or poetic style will resonate equally. As is often the case with collections of this size, some pieces leave a stronger impression than others. Still, there are undeniably powerful moments and unforgettable lines throughout with poems that demand re-reading, reflection, and deep emotional engagement. The editorial work by Noor Hindi and George Abraham also deserves mention. The poems are thoughtfully grouped, and there’s a clear intention behind the sequencing that adds cohesion to what could have easily been an overwhelming range of voices. Their care in curating the collection helps guide the reader through these complex narratives.
While not every poem was equally impactful for me, the anthology as a whole is a meaningful, necessary contribution and one that unsettles, educates, and resonates long after the final page.
April 29, 2025
The beauty of poetry is how it brings emotions and experiences to life, and how it so often transcends languages and standard phrasing to achieve this. I am in no way capable of fully understanding the Palestinian experience, but the words collected in this anthology do convey a breathtaking and heartwrenching picture that taught me so much. As with so many books of this nature, I feel like this should be required reading for everyone to expand their perspectives and worldviews.
Thanks to Haymarket Books and Edelweiss for the ARC.
Thanks to Haymarket Books and Edelweiss for the ARC.
October 7, 2025
A collection of Palestinian poetry across generations. While focusing on the recent, Haymarket offers something special here by bringing together all of these poets, whether they come from different time periods or are Palestinians inside or outside Palestine. This combination of resistance poems from across the globe showcases just how large the scope of Palestinian thought is.
This is a rather large collection, running over 300 pages. While not every poem is a favorite of mine, there are so many that resonate deeply and the poems that don’t do that for me are likely to do that for someone else. I was in awe of just how many great poems are here. This collection holds poems of many different styles and structures. This makes sure that things never get too monotonous. Even when many of the same thoughts and emotions are being explored they continue to feel fresh and just as powerful.
Many themes of resistance through the written word, generational trauma, and isolation in diaspora are explored. Most interesting to me were these poems that offered a metafictional commentary on the act of writing poetry as a Palestinian. Poetry has been used as a tool of resistance for decades by Palestinians. Given how praised the thought of a nonviolent protest is, the poem has often taken center stage, building a legacy for itself.
Poetry is often associated with the pain of human experience, a resource Palestinians have no lack of. That being said there are still many poems here that celebrate the joys in the Palestinian, something often more radical than any vivid description of pain.
I loved getting to read so many different experimental styles of writing in this collection. It really is inspiring to see Palestinians writing in this way and not being held by any specific tradition or expectation. This collection really is a great sampling of the current wealth of Palestinian poets. Many I had read from before but I was also introduced to new writers who have joined their ranks.
If I had one complaint its that I wish there was more of a context around these poems and their authors. I understand the value in having all of these poets of varying time periods and backgrounds together in one collection but I often find knowing when and in what context a poem like this was written helps enhance the experience. As they are presented here you get to understand the timeless aspect of these poems. That the struggle experienced by these authors has continued on for decades. This is a great element but I also appreciate knowing what specific events or era of occupation influenced its inspiration. You can get a feel for this in some cases due to the subject material explicitly stated in the body of the poem but it is not consistent.
I also wish there was a little more background given for each of these authors. There is a glossary of contributors at the end of the book that offers very sparse and limited biographies but I wish there was more. I also only really explored this section of the book if a poet's work inspired me enough to want to know more about them
Overall, this is a great resource for those looking to see the vast diversity and ability of Palestinian writing. I highly recommend this to anyone curious about Palestinian poetry as it is a great sampling of many contemporary authors who have full works out that only expand on these themes.
Favorites include: Landscape (62), Variations on a Last Chance (77), Untitled (78), The Eternity of Cactus (88), How I Kill Soldiers (94), If I Must Die (100), Nablus Street (166), requiem of a mediterranean moon (172), Punctuation as Organized Violence (194), Full Interview (201), an ode to the city i live in that will never be home (207), Self Portrait: A Second Version (235), Fulminations (271), No More Years of Nakba (287), One day the hauntings will stop (292), Palestinian (301), Letters to June Jordan in September (309), On Gaza Seashore (310), Palestine Is a Futurism: Prophecies (Cruising Jerusalem) (318).
This is a rather large collection, running over 300 pages. While not every poem is a favorite of mine, there are so many that resonate deeply and the poems that don’t do that for me are likely to do that for someone else. I was in awe of just how many great poems are here. This collection holds poems of many different styles and structures. This makes sure that things never get too monotonous. Even when many of the same thoughts and emotions are being explored they continue to feel fresh and just as powerful.
Many themes of resistance through the written word, generational trauma, and isolation in diaspora are explored. Most interesting to me were these poems that offered a metafictional commentary on the act of writing poetry as a Palestinian. Poetry has been used as a tool of resistance for decades by Palestinians. Given how praised the thought of a nonviolent protest is, the poem has often taken center stage, building a legacy for itself.
Poetry is often associated with the pain of human experience, a resource Palestinians have no lack of. That being said there are still many poems here that celebrate the joys in the Palestinian, something often more radical than any vivid description of pain.
I loved getting to read so many different experimental styles of writing in this collection. It really is inspiring to see Palestinians writing in this way and not being held by any specific tradition or expectation. This collection really is a great sampling of the current wealth of Palestinian poets. Many I had read from before but I was also introduced to new writers who have joined their ranks.
If I had one complaint its that I wish there was more of a context around these poems and their authors. I understand the value in having all of these poets of varying time periods and backgrounds together in one collection but I often find knowing when and in what context a poem like this was written helps enhance the experience. As they are presented here you get to understand the timeless aspect of these poems. That the struggle experienced by these authors has continued on for decades. This is a great element but I also appreciate knowing what specific events or era of occupation influenced its inspiration. You can get a feel for this in some cases due to the subject material explicitly stated in the body of the poem but it is not consistent.
I also wish there was a little more background given for each of these authors. There is a glossary of contributors at the end of the book that offers very sparse and limited biographies but I wish there was more. I also only really explored this section of the book if a poet's work inspired me enough to want to know more about them
Overall, this is a great resource for those looking to see the vast diversity and ability of Palestinian writing. I highly recommend this to anyone curious about Palestinian poetry as it is a great sampling of many contemporary authors who have full works out that only expand on these themes.
Favorites include: Landscape (62), Variations on a Last Chance (77), Untitled (78), The Eternity of Cactus (88), How I Kill Soldiers (94), If I Must Die (100), Nablus Street (166), requiem of a mediterranean moon (172), Punctuation as Organized Violence (194), Full Interview (201), an ode to the city i live in that will never be home (207), Self Portrait: A Second Version (235), Fulminations (271), No More Years of Nakba (287), One day the hauntings will stop (292), Palestinian (301), Letters to June Jordan in September (309), On Gaza Seashore (310), Palestine Is a Futurism: Prophecies (Cruising Jerusalem) (318).
May 15, 2025
4.5 stars
I think the introduction describes the book so well "it does not seek to represent, but instead seeks to complicate, trouble, unsettle, and (dare we say)terrorize." and that is exactly what it has done. Every poem and every single word has stuck with me and I am sure it will always stay with me. This anthology contains several poems from Palestinian authors crossing over time, some date as far back as 1950 and others just 2023. What is especially grueling is reading a poem you figured to be recent only to discover it was written years and years ago, this shows how the Palestinian struggle has been happening for years, even if the rest of the world just recently opened up to the fact. My grandmother doesn't know what years she was born all she knows is that it was the same year as the Nakba, my grandmother, mother and I have all been waiting for a free Palestine. The poems go through themes of exile, death, displacement, love, family, being queer, imprisonment and so much more.
At first some of these poems didn't feel related to the Palestinian cause, but then I realized all these poems about living in america (or wherever) are related because Palestine is ever present. It's not only a country or a nation, it's a dream, a way of life, a place of worship. We hold our homelands in such high esteem it flows into everything we do. Just a beautiful anthology of poetry I think absolutely everyone should read. I just want to reread it and analyze all the poems!
In my idea of poetry it's supposed to not only move you but it has to stick with you and especially when it's about a cause where you can make a difference. Learn about the nakba, teach others about the genocide, go to protest, boycott don't just watch on as the world turns a blind eye.
Thank you Edelweiss for the arc!
I think the introduction describes the book so well "it does not seek to represent, but instead seeks to complicate, trouble, unsettle, and (dare we say)terrorize." and that is exactly what it has done. Every poem and every single word has stuck with me and I am sure it will always stay with me. This anthology contains several poems from Palestinian authors crossing over time, some date as far back as 1950 and others just 2023. What is especially grueling is reading a poem you figured to be recent only to discover it was written years and years ago, this shows how the Palestinian struggle has been happening for years, even if the rest of the world just recently opened up to the fact. My grandmother doesn't know what years she was born all she knows is that it was the same year as the Nakba, my grandmother, mother and I have all been waiting for a free Palestine. The poems go through themes of exile, death, displacement, love, family, being queer, imprisonment and so much more.
At first some of these poems didn't feel related to the Palestinian cause, but then I realized all these poems about living in america (or wherever) are related because Palestine is ever present. It's not only a country or a nation, it's a dream, a way of life, a place of worship. We hold our homelands in such high esteem it flows into everything we do. Just a beautiful anthology of poetry I think absolutely everyone should read. I just want to reread it and analyze all the poems!
In my idea of poetry it's supposed to not only move you but it has to stick with you and especially when it's about a cause where you can make a difference. Learn about the nakba, teach others about the genocide, go to protest, boycott don't just watch on as the world turns a blind eye.
Thank you Edelweiss for the arc!
Read
November 16, 2025"History arrives late. The Mediterranean light arrives on time."
I annotated and underlined the shit out of this. I humbly claimed many poems and lines as standouts or personally resonant. Awesome to see repeat contributions from authors and contributions from writers based in so-called Australia like Hasib Hourani, Micaela Sahhar, Sara M. Saleh (who introduced me to Fady Joudah). Adding this as one of my favourite poetry collections I have read (trying to read more and more as time goes on).
Palestine is a futurism and futurism is a Palestine.
I annotated and underlined the shit out of this. I humbly claimed many poems and lines as standouts or personally resonant. Awesome to see repeat contributions from authors and contributions from writers based in so-called Australia like Hasib Hourani, Micaela Sahhar, Sara M. Saleh (who introduced me to Fady Joudah). Adding this as one of my favourite poetry collections I have read (trying to read more and more as time goes on).
Palestine is a futurism and futurism is a Palestine.
July 9, 2025
“prepare yourself for now’s battle. of weapons and wit make ready what you must.”
- Yusuf Ezidden Salah, “Ghazal: daughter of the arabs” (1949)
Poetry has a rich history among Palestinians, and this collection is a testament to that.
On that subject, I’m also excited about the forthcoming reprinting of Enemy of the Sun: Poetry of Palestinian Resistance, which has been out of print for decades
- Yusuf Ezidden Salah, “Ghazal: daughter of the arabs” (1949)
Poetry has a rich history among Palestinians, and this collection is a testament to that.
On that subject, I’m also excited about the forthcoming reprinting of Enemy of the Sun: Poetry of Palestinian Resistance, which has been out of print for decades
June 18, 2025
“I am but my love for my land, by the way,
I have chosen you, my homeland, in love and in obedience
in secret and in public.”
A heartfelt exploration of Palestinian identity, memory, and belonging. As with any gathering of voices, some poems echoed louder than others. Some standout pieces include work by: Mahmoud Darwish, Samih Al-Qasim, Mohammed El Kurd, Mosab Abu Toha. Maya Abu Al-Hayyat, Dalia Taha, Ghayath Almadhoun, Kaleem Hawa, Emily Khilfeh, Sara Saleh, Shereen Naser and Fargo Tbakhi.
I have chosen you, my homeland, in love and in obedience
in secret and in public.”
A heartfelt exploration of Palestinian identity, memory, and belonging. As with any gathering of voices, some poems echoed louder than others. Some standout pieces include work by: Mahmoud Darwish, Samih Al-Qasim, Mohammed El Kurd, Mosab Abu Toha. Maya Abu Al-Hayyat, Dalia Taha, Ghayath Almadhoun, Kaleem Hawa, Emily Khilfeh, Sara Saleh, Shereen Naser and Fargo Tbakhi.
September 25, 2025
This book is amazing!! So many incredible poems in here! So gorgeously edited and curated! Such a wide range of styles, tones, forms, techniques, disciplines! Free Palestine from the river to the sea!
August 3, 2025
Incredible book. I can't even imagine all of the work that went into gathering this amazing Palestinian poetry from all over the world. Moving, beautiful, a must-read.
August 18, 2025
I flew through these poems, each one more urgent than the last, overflowing with tenderness, resistance, and calls for a future now.
September 2, 2025
Many of the poems focus on venting anger and unrest, but reading about despair with no breaks is exhausting.
September 29, 2025
sooo good. Samer budair is a great poet sooo good thank you for your poetry🙏☺️. My goat.
December 22, 2025
they wrote about the flowers bc they really do own them!!!!!!!!
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews