UPA is delighted to continue our Monthly Poetry Collection, curated by Palestinian-American poet and UPA supporter Zeina Azzam! On the first Tuesday of each month throughout 2021, a poem related to Palestine will be posted on our blog and social media pages.

For the month of February, we feature Naomi Shihab Nye’s “Arabic Coffee.” 

Nye’s poems have a universal quality to them. She writes sensitively about everyday experiences that reflect our common humanity, crossing and celebrating multiple cultures. Her father was a Palestinian and her mother an American; she grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, Jerusalem, and San Antonio, Texas, where she resides today. Nye has published extensively and has won many awards. She is currently the Poetry Foundation’s Young People’s Poet Laureate.  

The poem, “Arabic Coffee,” speaks to more than hospitality; the coffee her father makes is an invitation to friendship and meaningful connection, like a “motion of faith” that brings us together. 

Read the complete poem here!

About Zeina Azzam  

Zeina Azzam is a Palestinian American poet, writer, editor, and community activist. Her poems are published widely in literary journals, anthologies, and edited volumes. Zeina’s chapbook, Bayna Bayna, In-Between, will be released by The Poetry Box in May 2021. She holds an M.A. in Arabic literature from Georgetown University.