For the fourth meeting of Queers For Palestine’s book club, on Thurs 8 August, we will be discussing ‘Mornings in Jenin,’ a book written by Susan Abulhawa. If you don’t have the book, Common Press will be offering a 10% discount on the title for the month – just show the ticket for the event at the till.
Otherwise, please email us at
queersforpalestine@proton.me and we’ll find a way to get you the book!
- Have you been wanting to do more reading about Palestine but you feel overwhelmed
and don’t know where to start? Join a book club with fellow queers! - We meet on the second Thursday of every month at 6.30 pm - 8: 30 pm at the intersectional queer
bookshop The Common Press in Bethnal Green. No prior knowledge is necessary and all
are welcome to join. We will be reading one book each month, and we will be discussing it in
person in the meetings.
- There are limited free tickets. The ‘Pay what you can’ tickets start from £4 and support
Common Press’s staffing. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds, please get in
touch with @thecommonpress
About the book:
‘In the refugee camp of Jenin, Amal is born into a world of loss—of home, country, and heritage. Her Palestinian family was driven from their ancestral village by the newly formed state of Israel in 1948. As the villagers fled that day, Amal's older brother, just a baby, was stolen away by an Israeli soldier. In Jenin, the adults subsist on memories, waiting to return to the homes they love. Amal's mother has walled away her heart with grief, and her father labors all day. But in the fleeting peacefulness of dawn, he reads to his young daughter daily, and she can feel his love for her, as big as the ocean and all its fishes; On those quiet mornings, they dream together of a brighter future.
This is Amal's story, the story of one family struggle and survival through over sixty years of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, carrying us from Jenin to Jerusalem, to Lebanon and the anonymity of America. It is a story shaped by scars and fear, but also by the transformative intimacy of marriage and the fierce protectiveness of motherhood. It is a story of faith, forgiveness, and life-sustaining love.’
Poster design: @ahealthylevelofdissent
- Please arrive at 6.30 PM. The Common Press is accessible and has wheelchair accessible toilets
- There are limited free tickets. The ‘Pay what you can’ tickets start from £4 and support Common Press’s staffing. No one will be turned away due to lack of funds, please get in touch with @thecommonpress
About the book:
‘Gaza, home to two million people, continues to face suffocating conditions imposed by Israel. This distinctive anthology imagines what the future of Gaza could be, while reaffirming the critical role of Gaza in Palestinian identity, history, and struggle for liberation. Light in Gaza is a seminal, moving and wide-ranging anthology of Palestinian writers and artists. It constitutes a collective effort to organize and center Palestinian voices in the ongoing struggle. As political discourse shifts toward futurism as a means of reimagining a better way of living, beyond the violence and limitations of colonialism, Light in Gaza is an urgent and powerful intervention into an important political moment.’
Upcoming dates
TBC
Poster design: @ahealthylevelofdissent
