Brooklyn Poets Book Launch & Fundraiser: Nour Al Ghraowi

Join us for the launch of poet Nour Al Ghraowi's debut collection of poems, there are bodies here, on Monday, February 24 at 144 Montague Street! Doors will open for a wine reception at 6 PM and readings will begin at 7 PM. Bianca Pérez, Nassim Dayoub and Lara Atallah will open for Al Ghraowi, and Lara Arafeh will emcee. Book signing to follow. 

This event is a fundraising effort for the Palestinian Children’s Relief Fund — 100% of profits from book sales will be going directly to this organization.

Note that by attending this event, you agree to abide by our code of conduct and COVID-19 policy. All in-person attendees for events are currently required to wear masks (regardless of vaccination status) except readers at a safe distance on stage. We will have masks available. Brooklyn Poets reserves the right to dismiss from our programs any participant found to be in violation of these policies. Thank you for respecting our community.

About there are bodies here

there are bodies here is the debut poetry collection from Syrian writer and activist Nour Al Ghraowi. Nour's poems weave a lyrical tapestry of the deeply personal and the unabashedly political as she explores the migrant experience in an often hostile Western world. Al Ghraowi generously invites the reader in and guides them through her world where beauty and horror intersect at truth.

About the Author

Nour Al Ghraowi is a writer‭, ‬activist‭ ‬and educator born and raised in Damascus‭, ‬Syria and based in Brooklyn‭, ‬New York‭. ‬‬She writes in the hope of changing the Western view of the Middle East and the Arabic language‭, ‬which is often viewed as inimical. Nour’s writing also addresses social justice‭, ‬migrant identity‭ ‬and what it means to be an immigrant in an unwelcoming place, as well as feminism and what it means to be a feminist Middle Eastern woman‭.

About the Opening Acts

Bianca Alyssa Pérez is a Latina poet, educator and editor born and raised in Mission, Texas – a small southern town bordering Mexico. She holds her MFA in Poetry from Texas State University, where she also teaches and coordinates the MFA in Creative Writing program.

Nassim (Seem) Dayoub is a Syrian-American tattooer, painter and writer based in New York City. He strives to make tattoos that help the wearer feel empowered.

Lara Atallah is a multidisciplinary artist and writer. Her practice explores the political dimensions of landscape, probing both the futility and fluidity of borders as manmade constructs.

Emceed by Lara Arafeh

Lara Arafeh is a curator, writer and researcher based in Brooklyn who delves into decolonial methodologies, narrative history and the intricate intersections of culture, identity and feminism. She also serves as the director of Majlis NY.

COVID-19 Policy

Effective 2024, all event attendees are required to wear masks due to the current prevalence of cases in NYC. Masks will be available at the door.

The current metrics available, including NYC wastewater data and the CDC’s Respiratory Virus Activity Levels, both indicate high levels of COVID and other illnesses. While your personal risk tolerance may vary, the unmitigated spread of COVID and other respiratory illnesses disproportionately affects the most vulnerable in our community—including those who are immunocompromised or don’t have the privilege of paid sick days to heal and recover. We hope you’ll join us in taking the actions we can to make our space welcoming to all and to keep each other safe. Please stay home if you are experiencing symptoms, have a positive COVID test or someone close to you has recently tested positive.

We strongly encourage daytime visitors and workshop attendees to wear masks. Workshop instructors may choose to enforce a more stringent policy at their own discretion. Additionally, workshop participants may be required to wear masks as an accessibility accommodation for other participants.

While we do our best, Brooklyn Poets cannot guarantee zero risk. A risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in all public settings. By entering the building, students, teachers and other attendees accept the risk of exposure and knowingly waive and release Brooklyn Poets from any liability related to COVID-19.

Brooklyn Poets Code of Conduct

Brooklyn Poets will not tolerate any instances of discrimination, harassment or abuse in conjunction with any of our programs. Respect and consideration for others, both within and outside our programs, are core values to be upheld by all participants. Discrimination against and/or harassment of community members on the basis of race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, national origin, religion, age, marital status, veteran status or any other factor is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Program participants are expected to adhere to all federal, state and local laws and regulations. Should a board or staff member, independent contractor, volunteer or program participant be found to violate any aspect of the organization’s code of conduct, Brooklyn Poets reserves the right to dismiss them from the program. Consequences may include, but not be limited to, dismissal from the current activity, suspension, ineligibility for all future activities, and/or loss of payment or fees. If you have any issues to report, please do not hesitate to contact anyone on our Conduct Committee and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.

Interim Director r kay: kay@brooklynpoets.org
Board Director Miller Oberman: miller.oberman@gmail.com