These writers celebrate the release of their new books. Emilie Lygren’s second book is Once I was a stone. Deema Shehabi and Marilyn Hacker co-authored Water to Water: Gaza Renga.

From the book publishers:

Lygen's Once I was a stone is an intimate portrait of gender nonconformity rooted in the context of childhood and the natural world. Lygren grapples with the complexities of selfhood, power, and loss, offering a gentle yet unflinching look at what it means to be in relationship with place.

Water to Water is a poetic correspondence between Palestinian American poet Deema Shehabi and Jewish American poet Marilyn Hacker. Their project involved an alternating call and response between them in the tradition of the Japanese renga form, each poet picking up a word, phrase, or image from the poem preceding. Although triggered by events in Gaza, it weaves in other conflicts past and present. Through its pages, the words transcend differences, linking individual voices into a collective expression of grief, hope, and defiance.

Max attendance: 60

Vibes: Profound, lyrical, intimate

Cost: Free