Something About Living

Something About Living is a poetry collection by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, a Palestinian American poet, essayist and translator based in Washington State. The book won the 2022 Akron Poetry Prize, chosen by the poet Adrian Matejka, and was published by the University of Akron Press. Its poems grapple with Palestine's long history of loss and displacement and with what it means to live amid violence and hostility, while holding on to the small daily pleasures that make survival possible. Tuffaha writes about diaspora, the lasting effects of colonialism and greed, and the importance of protest, joy and kindness within communities. Throughout, love appears as a deliberate and even radical act. The collection won the 2024 National Book Award for Poetry.