A Welcome Reading for Gazan Poet Yahya Ashour

Yahya Ashour شاعر غزّي is an exiled Gazan poet and award-winning author, born on April 22, 1998, currently based in the US. He is a 2022 honorary fellow at the University of Iowa and the author of the e-book A Gaza of Siege & Genocide (Mizna, 2024). Ashour’s portfolio also includes poetry collections, children’s books in Arabic, and contributions to global anthologies and journals, including Michigan Quarterly Review and ArabLit. He has received multiple scholarships and fellowships and has read poetry at over 50 U.S. organizations and universities, including Princeton, Stanford, UPenn, and UCLA. His poetry has been translated into several languages, including Spanish, French, Japanese, and Bengali. Ashour studied Sociology & Psychology and worked as a creative writing mentor for youth in Gaza. Beginning in 2025, he will be a Visiting Assistant Professor of English and World Literature at Pitzer College.