You Must Live: New Poetry from Palestine

by Sherah Bloor (Editor)

A bilingual anthology of poems from Palestine (2023-2024), You Must Live attests to existence in the face of suppression. Bearing witness to the realities of the Palestinian genocide, You Must Live is a bilingual anthology of recent poetry from Gaza and the West Bank. Translated from Arabic and edited by Tayseer Abu Odeh and Sherah Bloor, this collection gathers the voices of poets currently living in Palestinian territory, most of whom have never left. Yet the poems in You Must Live refuse to cast their speakers as perpetual victims. Diverse voices and styles shine throughout—powerful, prayerful, theatrical, and even humorous—as poets write love letters to the landscape, elegies for martyrs and homes, and proclamations for the future. Negotiating the interplay between aesthetics and politics, the individual and the collective, You Must Live sounds as an urgent call to the global community.

Genres: Poetry, Middle East

320 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 2025

Reviews

[Taylor Franson-Thiel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yes.

[Lucsbooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

I requested "You Must Live" to try to do what I can to support, uplift and spread Palestinian voices.

This book is more than a poetry collection: most of the poems were written in the last 3 years, by poets who reside in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank. It's a testimony of a genocide and a historical document that those who come after us will judge us for allowing it to happen.

I had read a handful of translated poems by Mahmoud Darwish and a few other Arabic poems and really enjoyed them, but I was in every way a novice to Arabic poetry and slightly afraid I was out of my depth. One of the biggest surprises was that alongside the translated poems into English was the original in Arabic, which makes this edition perfect for bilingual people and anyone trying to learn any of those languages, but you can totally understand the translation, without being familiar with the culture.

Other than this book's theme, what got my attention was the biography of the editors and contributors to this book: it really is true that Palestinians are the most educated and academically accomplished people in the world. Reading it was pure academic joy.

The book ends with a small biography of each poet accompanied by a small picture. I found myself zooming in, trying and fearing recognising someone, after the last few years accompanying Palestinians through their reports of the genocide.

Thank you to Edelweiss and Copper Canyon Press for this DRC.

[joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

a beautiful anthology of recent palestinian poetry. i was impressed by the efforts both editors & poets took to create this collection & i can say that i have left this book with a deeper appreciation for poets around the world & the heart that is infused in every writing. i will not lie & say that every poem was to my taste (in terms of style, structure, rhythm), but the truth is that this collection opened new doors for me as someone who typically sticks to poetry of decades past. for ones who find it difficult to constantly be bombarded by the news, but still want to be educated, i highly recommend this anthology. i was able to take my reading slow & meditate on the topics discussed by these talented poets in order to gain a deeper understanding of the people that are being affected. they are not statistics, or a rolling headline on cnn. they are people, real people who deserve a better earth to live on.

rest in peace to all we have lost

[Kirin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This important dual language collection of poetry written by Palestinians living in Gaza and the Occupied West Bank provides a powerful portrayal to not only the literary witness of a genocide, but also the rawness of humanity, beauty of hope, and the importance of elevating OWN voice narratives. I can read, but not understand the Arabic, but love that both it and the English share the space and make the book that much more accessible. There is nothing for me to opine upon the text contained, other than to say that sitting with the words, the messages, and bearing witness to the out pouring of emotions from a variety of writers was humbling, and inspiring. I love that pictures and biographies of the author's are featured in the backmatter, further showing that the people behind the words are very real and very much deserve to live. Free Palestine.

[Rhiley Jade · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free.

Every poem is someone's hope, someone's pain, someone's goodbye, someone's smile, someone's tears.
Every Palestinian writing for this collection is giving their voice to the world in hopes that people will HEAR. Not just skip over the lines and pretend to understand, but to DIGEST the words and HEAR them spoken in their heads. We all must listen to Palestinian voices. Uplift them and put them high above all other's. Their voices are MOST important.
I am grateful that I was given the chance to read this by Edelweiss, though I am late to reviewing, and the opportunity to give 5 stars to a testament to Palestinian resistance and the courage and strength of all of Gaza.
Free Palestine, now and forever.

[Ceyrone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Incredibly powerful. Reading the introduction and how these poets literally put their lives on the line to get these poems out. After years of dehumanisation, this represents what has been lost and what continues to be decimated. Reading is resistance. It testifies to Gazan beauty and love. Highly recommend. An end to the occupation and to oppression.

[Alaina McDermott · Rating 5 out of 5]

“You might not know me, but I grow grapes and opium in my backyard,
and when poems bloom, I sell them to lovers in countries of forbidden love.”

From “How to build a pub in a country prohibited from love” by Nema’a Hassan.