Lena Khalaf Tuffaha

Lena Khalaf Tuffaha
Tuffaha at the 2024 National Book Awards finalists reading
Born1975 (age 50–51)[1]
Seattle, Washington, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Washington (BA); Pacific Lutheran University (MFA)[2]
OccupationsPoet, essayist, translator
Notable workSomething About Living
AwardsNational Book Award for Poetry (2024); Washington State Book Award for Poetry (2018, 2025); George Ellenbogen Poetry Award (2025)[3]
Websitewww.lenakhalaftuffaha.com

Lena Khalaf Tuffaha (born 1975) is a Palestinian American poet, essayist, and translator.[1][2][4] She cofounded the Institute for Middle East Understanding in 2005.[1]

Tuffaha is the author of three full-length poetry collections and two chapbooks.[5] Letters from the Interior was published in 2019 by Diode Editions.[6] Water & Salt was published by Red Hen Press and won the 2018 Washington State Book Award for Poetry.[7][4] Arab in Newsland was published by Two Sylvias Press and won the 2016 Two Sylvias Press Chapbook Prize.[8][9] Kaan and Her Sisters, published by Trio House Press in 2023, was a finalist for the 2024 Firecracker Award.[10][11]

Tuffaha's collection Something About Living won the 2024 National Book Award for Poetry and the 2022 Akron Poetry Prize.[12][5] It was selected for the 2025 American Library Association Notable Books List (Poetry) and shortlisted for the 2025 PEN Heaney Prize.[5][13][14] In 2025, Something About Living also won the 2025 Washington State Book Award for Poetry and the George Ellenbogen Poetry Award (Arab American Book Awards).[15][3]

Tuffaha is the recipient of a 2019 Washington State Artist Trust Fellowship and served as the inaugural Poet-in-Residence at Open Books: A Poem Emporium in Seattle, Washington.[16][1] Her writing has appeared in Barrow Street, Hayden's Ferry Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, New England Review, TriQuarterly, and the Academy of American Poets Poem-a-Day series.[17] She holds a BA in Comparative Literature from the University of Washington and an MFA in poetry from Pacific Lutheran University's Rainier Writing Workshop.[2] In 2002, she was quoted in The Seattle Times as doing outreach work for the Seattle chapter of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.[18]

Works

  • Letters from the Interior. Diode Editions. 2019. ISBN 978-1939728333[6]
  • Water & Salt. Red Hen Press. 2017. ISBN 978-1597090292[7]
  • Arab in Newsland. Two Sylvias Press. 2017. ISBN 978-0998631493[9]
  • Kaan and Her Sisters. Trio House Press. 2023. ISBN 978-1949487145[19]
  • Something About Living. University of Akron Press. 2024. ISBN 978-1629222738[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Farah, Summer (2025-04-30). "For Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, Joy and Grief Are Intertwined". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  2. ^ a b c "About Lena Khalaf Tuffaha". Academy of American Poets. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  3. ^ a b "19th Annual Arab American Book Awards Amplify the Voices of Arab America Today". Arab American National Museum. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  4. ^ a b "Poet of resistance". University of Washington Magazine. 2025-01-07. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  5. ^ a b c d "Something About Living". University of Akron Press. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  6. ^ a b "LETTERS FROM THE INTERIOR by Lena Khalaf Tuffaha". Diode Editions. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  7. ^ a b "Water & Salt". Red Hen Press. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  8. ^ "Arab In Newsland". Two Sylvias Press. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  9. ^ a b "Lena Khalaf Tuffaha". Two Sylvias Press. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  10. ^ "Kaan and Her Sisters". Trio House Press. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  11. ^ "2024 Firecracker Awards Finalists Announced". Publishers Weekly. 2024-05-15. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  12. ^ "Something About Living". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  13. ^ "2025 Notable Books List Announced: Year's Best in Fiction, Nonfiction and Poetry". RUSA Update. 2025-01-26. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  14. ^ "PEN Heaney Prize 2025 shortlist". English PEN. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  15. ^ "Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, '08, wins her second Washington State Book Award". University of Washington Magazine. 2025-09-18. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  16. ^ "End of Year Campaign Artist Spotlight: Lena Tuffaha". Artist Trust. 2019-11-13. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  17. ^ "Lena Khalaf Tuffaha". Diode Editions. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  18. ^ "Silent walk speaks of hope for peace". The Seattle Times. 2002-03-31. Retrieved 2026-03-01.
  19. ^ "Lena Khalaf Tuffaha". Trio House Press. Retrieved 2026-03-01.

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