Songs and poems of Gaza during the genocide
| Dates: | 12 February 2026 |
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| Times: | 17:00 - 18:30 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | School of Arts, Languages and Cultures |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, External researchers, Adults, Current University students, General public |
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Dr Atef Alshaer, University of Westminster
Host: Dr Moshe Behar
In my talk, I will highlight examples of poetry and songs from the Gaza Strip within the context of the genocide in Gaza. I will draw on post-2023 texts written and performed, by authors some of whom since have became martyrs. All pieces are creative testimonies by people who have lived through the first live-streamed destruction of Gaza, a televised mass loss of life, infrastructure, and home.
I engage with the notion of 'popular culture' and put forward questions about its role in giving voice to the people of Gaza. How does 'popular culture' aid people in their struggle in context of genocide - a term much contested and debated - when life for many in Gaza is so precarious? What does such creative output tells us about Gazans and their relationship with their Palestinian history and culture? How can such materials serve as part of an archive for remembrance and survival?
BIO: Dr Atef Alshaer is a Reader in Arabic Studies at the University of Westminster, London. His recent monographs are A Map of Absence: An Anthology of Palestinian Writing on the Nakba (2019), Love and Poetry in the Middle East (ed.) (2022), and Language and National Identity in Palestine: Representations of Power and Resistance in Gaza (2025). He is a poet, writer and translator.
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