The Gaza Poets Society is a Gaza-based literary organization dedicated to promoting the work of emerging artists and poets in the Gaza Strip. Through our publications and initiatives, we act as a conduit for Gazan poets to connect with the international literary community.

Founded in 2018 by Gazan poet Mohammed Moussa, the Gaza Poets Society is the first spoken-word poetry community in the Gaza Strip. Within a year of its founding, the Society boasted almost thirty members, and a lasting community was formed. Members gathered to exchange ideas and share their work both within and beyond the group, building both local and international connections with writers, readers, and literary organizations.

The Society has hosted countless workshops, readings, and events to benefit Gazan poets and expand the reach of their voices; this work has been profiled in Al Jazeera and New Lines Magazine, among others. The group has organized three slam poetry events for Gazan youth: “Gaza Youth Speak,” “Hymns of Peace,” and “Our Dreams Matter.” The Society has also published two anthologies, Love and Loss and, more recently, My Death is Not a Song for You to Sing. Both anthologies and additional publications from the Gaza Poets Society can be found in our online shop.

Connecting Gazan poets and their work with writers and readers outside Palestine is a foundational mission of the Society, and this mission has only increased in urgency since the group’s formation. In 2018, the founding members of Gaza Poets Society gathered on a beach to share poetry and enjoy each other’s company; less than ten years later, the Israeli occupation has rendered this simple act of communion impossible. Since October 2023, the Society has worked to gather, document, and share the writing of Palestinian poets, both living and martyred, whose lives have been upturned by the current iteration of Israeli aggression, displacement, and genocide. With the help of our readers, friends, and literary colleagues across the world, we hope to continue and expand this work in spite of its many challenges.