The Resilience of Refaat: Honouring a Voice of Gaza

In December 2023, the world lost a singular voice. Refaat Alareer, poet, editor, teacher, and mentor, was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza, along with six members of his family. His final poem, If I Must Die, written just weeks before his death, echoed across borders and languages, giving voice to the grief and resistance of a people under siege.

Refaat Alareer was a Palestinian writer, poet, and professor of English literature at the Islamic University of Gaza. A passionate educator and mentor, he was a co-founder of We Are Not Numbers, a platform amplifying young Palestinian voices. His poetry and essays captured the struggles and resilience of life in Gaza, making him a vital literary figure. Through his teaching, writing, and activism, he shaped a new generation of Palestinian storytellers.

But Refaat’s legacy did not end there. A towering figure in Palestinian literature, he helped shape a new generation of writers and thinkers, not only through his words, but through his presence, his mentorship, and his belief in the power of storytelling.

Join us for a special evening of remembrance, reflection, and resistance, as we celebrate the life and work of Refaat Alareer and the community he built around him.

With readings from his poetry and prose, and reflections from three people who knew him personally: Yousef Aljamal, Gaza-based writer, translator, and editor of If I Must Die: Poetry and Prose, a tribute to his former teacher, Ahmed Nehad, writer, translator, and fellow lecturer at the Islamic University in Gaza, who Refaat mentored for many years, and Basma Ghalayini, translator and editor of Palestine +100 and Palestine -1, two ground-breaking science fiction anthologies imagining past and future Palestine’s.

This event, in partnership with Comma Press, is part of Liverpool’s growing cultural response to the ongoing crisis in Palestine, rooted in solidarity, shaped by stories, and driven by the belief that voices like Refaat’s must continue to be heard.