Read for Refaat: Global Day of Action for Palestine

This is a community reading event in solidarity with Palestine, and as part of a series being organised with Publishers 4 Palestine.

On January 15, 2024, forty days after Palestinian poet, editor, and educator Refaat Alareer was killed under Israeli bombardment. This event is part of a Global Day of Action in which we read his poetry in public and refuse business as usual, demanding an end to the genocide and the occupation.

Join us at the bookshop where we, and you, can read Refaat's poetry, and the poetry and work of other Palestinians, to find community and stand in solidarity with Palestine. All are welcome to participate or simply watch. This will be an informal event, and we welcome different languages and any readings that have inspired you. Lighthouse will provide reading materials, some collected together by Publishers4Palestine. Please feel free to bring your own as well.

Who was Refaat Alareer? Refaat Alareer (1979-2023) was a Palestinian poet, professor, and organizer who was killed in an Israeli bombing on December 6, 2023. His poem “If I Must Die” has been translated into dozens of languages and read around the world to commemorate his life and memory and as an act of outrage and resistance against the attempt to extinguish Palestinian life. His poetry and love for language implores us to continue the fight for a free Palestine.