Mosab Abu Toha is a Palestinian poet, short story writer and essayist from Gaza. His first collection of poetry, Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear, was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award for Poetry and won the Palestine Book Award, the American Book Award and the Walcott Poetry Prize. Abu Toha is also the founder of the Edward Said Library in Gaza, which Israel destroyed. His second poetry book, Forest of Noise, was named a NYT Notable Book of the Year and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. In 2025, Abu Toha won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for his Letter from Gaza columns in The New Yorker.
The Sarah Lawrence College Poetry Festival takes place in April each year and is the largest, open, student-run Poetry Festival in New York. Since 2003, we have been dedicated to the celebration of contemporary poetry and the creation of community around the art form. Previously, we have welcomed poets such as Terrance Hayes, Sharon Olds, Anne Carson, Kaveh Akbar, Tracy K. Smith, Donika Kelly, Claudia Rankine, Li-Young Lee, SLC’s very own Marie Howe, among many others. Our festival includes readings, panel discussions, generative sessions, craft talks, and more! We hope to see you there.
Free and open to the public, this year our festival will run from April 17 - 19th here on campus! For more information, please contact us at slcpoetryfest@gmail.com or follow us on Instagram (@slcpoetryfest). Register to attend.