Lena Khalaf Tuffaha

Lena Khalaf Tuffaha has lived the experiences of first-generation American, immigrant, and expatriate. Her heritage is Palestinian, Jordanian, and Syrian. She has lived in and traveled across the Arab world, and many of her poems are inspired by the experience of crossing cultural, geographic and political borders, borders between languages, between the present and the living past. Lena writes poetry, essays and translations. She is the author of three books of poetry: Water and Salt (Red Hen Press), Kaan and Her Sisters (July 2023), and Something About Living (U of Akron Press, 2024). She has also published two poetry chapbooks: Arab in Newsland and Letters from the Interior (diode editions, 2019).