Editor's Review
The Writings of Shahd Alnaami
You may have seen The Writings of Shahd Alnaami before you heard about Coastal Lines Press, before you knew there were so many talented writers in Gaza, before their voices had gathered into one discoverable place. That’s because Shahd’s zine came into existence earlier this year. As often is the case with Shahd, she took the first steps upon her own initiative, following instinct and the creative process. She reached out to Leila Boukarim for assistance with editing. Together, they formed a team of creative helpers, learned how to do lay out and printing of booklets, and entrusted the zine to readers around the world. What happened next was incredible. Readers responded to Shahd’s zine with tremendous generosity and support—not because they felt obliged—but because Shahd’s voice gifted them with something precious. Her words gave them hope.
“…words have the power to bring life to what others try to erase.”
In March 2025, when Shahd’s zine embarked into the world, Gaza had just been given a small chance to breathe after a year and a half of continuous bombardment and destruction. That breath of air was quickly stolen away by the crushing return of a full-scale onslaught on the strip. It was early April when I received a copy of the zine by mail. I read the opening and was deeply moved by the author’s tenderness toward her readers.
“If these pages have found their way into your hands, then in some way, our worlds have met. And in this meeting, I write this message to tell you: no matter how heavy life becomes, no matter how impossible the pain feels, it will pass. Nothing lasts forever, not even suffering. I once thought I would not be able to bear the weight of loss, the ache of grief. But here I am. And here you are, reading these words. We are both still here, and there is still a story to tell.”—Letter to the Reader
As the pages turned in my hand, my heart responded to the profound gentleness of the voice. Anguish and alienation gave way to calm and connection. My imagination stirred, as though coming back to life, and my hands wanted to deliver this voice to other hearts yearning to hear something gentle and tender after months of unending cruelty.
The Writings of Shahd Alnaami includes a variety of poems and published articles, written throughout the first full year of genocide in Gaza. Hopeful perspectives on one page are shredded by painful developments on the next, but Shahd carries her voice forward, protecting its light, preserving its tenderness for future hardships. Often she lends her voice to the children around her, their suffering immense, their tender-hearted smiles belying great tragedies.
“How old are you? In times of war/ a five-year old child is not five anymore./He has lived ninety years in the span of four.” —Don’t Ask Me My Age
Several pieces are written in memory of Rehaf, Shahd’s only sister who was killed in her sleep by IOF bombardment on December 28, 2024. The strike that took her sister also destroyed the family home, displacing the family, leaving no time or space for the persistence of grief, which attaches itself anyway to all that was left behind and that is left. In many pieces, Shahd sits with exhaustion and despair, while remembering that all states of mind and being are temporary.
“We keep asking, ‘Will this pass?’/ And remember how you/ used to say, ‘It shall pass…/I keep hoping it shall pass.’ /Still, we wait for the day/ peace will dawn,/ and a new chapter/ opens its bleary eyes.” —Until It Passes
Since reading Shahd’s zine, my soul has drifted closer and closer to Gaza than ever before. Now, I am one of many volunteer editors, helping to shape, print, bind, and distribute an array of works by some of Gaza’s most gifted writers in English. Were it not for Shahd’s bravery, much of what we have built collectively around the globe wouldn’t exist. She produced so much more than a zine. She gave us hope.
Contribute to Shahd’s fundraiser.
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Send proof donation to coastallinespress@gmail.com to receive a digital or print copy of The Writings of Shahd Alnaami. For print copies, include your full name and address in the email.
Find out more about digital, print and translated copies on Get Your Copy.
If you’re a bookseller, bookstore or printing press and want to support this fundraiser by printing and distributing zines, contact the writers directly or email coastallinespress@gmail.com for PDF copies or more information. Proof of donation required. The QR code on each zine serves as the point of sale, and all profits go to the authors.
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