Writing is an act of resistance
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Gauze
By Lisa Suhair Majaj when you learn that “gauze” comes from Gaza you will begin to understand how light passing through translucent fabric illuminates the delicate porous openings between threads that interweave to allow molecules of air and light to flow from one place to another without blockade or border, and you will learn…
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Ofrenda for Resistance
By Jordan Alejandro Rivera Tier I: Inframundo Poppy and cempasúchil petals Intermingled as our destinies Blood, bones, and stems Obsidian spearheads And shattered sugar skulls Tier II: Tierra Tomatoes, white sapotes, and olives Laid out on a lattice-patterned scarf Ten thousand and forty-three Candles flicker in harmony Guiding us here together Wax binds our…
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In Pillars, the Prized City
By Maira Faisal “You ask: What is the meaning of ‘homeland’? “They will say: The house, the mulberry tree, the chicken coop, the beehive, the smell of bread, and the first sky. “You ask: Can a word of eight letters be big enough for all of these, yet too small for us?” — from In…
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Zoo
Amplified Voices, anti-war writing, anti-conflict writing, N. de Vera, Narrative nonfiction, Writers Resist, immigration rightsBy N. de Vera I fidgeted at the line for immigration after arriving at LAX. When it was my turn, I calmly answered the officer’s questions, hoping this was a routine interview that would go smoothly. However, when I saw that look on his face, I knew what I was in for—again. “Wait here,…
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Two Poems by Lonav Ojha
Amplified Voices, anti-conflict writing, Lonav Ojha, Fascism, Poetry, Writers Resist, resistance, anti-conflict poetryTo Refaat Alareer, who became a kite Brother, you looked so loving, holding very gently that box of strawberries, and behind your home, not yet, not again, but incessantly in ruins. You were not a number, you were, an educator, a cheerful poet, settler’s boogeyman, and now that you’re dead, English is…
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18 Jennas
By Jenna Mayzouni A social media influencer had posted that he looked up how many people were killed in Gaza who shared his name. Morbid curiosity seized me, and I searched for mine. On November 1,[1] there were 18 Jenna/Janas killed in Gaza. On my birthday every year, my mother recounts the story of…
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Jannah is a single strand. My father is the complementary prognosticator strand.
By Abdulrazaq Salihu 3’ …
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Welcome to Writers Resist, the December 2023 Issue
It’s been a year that too often has left many of us without words—thankfully, not those who’ve made this issue possible. Their voices offer clarity, sorrow, hope, humor, and a reminder to embrace nature’s beauty. Stop for a moment, listen, and, if you like, let folks know what you think. Then, join us in the…
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Slowcookery
Poetry, Amy L. Bernstein, Combahee River Collective, Combahee River Raid, Harriet Tubman, Black feminismsBy Amy L. Bernstein “Because when it comes to truly explaining racial injustice in this country, the table should never be set quickly” – Nikole Hannah-Jones, “What is Owed,” New York Times Magazine, 2020 I stand on the far shore of the fast-moving Combahee River, opposite the Collective, afforded a distant glimpse through…