My Voice Cannot Be Bombed: Palestinian writer launches powerful book in Cardiff

Stephen Price

A Palestinian writer from Gaza City is set to have his ‘searing’ collection of poetry published in a new book which launches in Cardiff this Monday (11 August) – works ‘born from pain and dreams, from a land still searching for light’.

Yahya Al Hamarna’s Upcoming Book ‘My Voice Cannot be Bombed’ will be available for pre-order at the event and is set to be published shortly after by Iskra Books.

Monday 11 August marks Yahya’s 24th Birthday, his second birthday during the genocide in Gaza.

In better times he would celebrate with his mother Reem’s home baked orange cake, in his beloved Gaza City.

But as the forced starvation of his people continues, and as the occupation’s plans for a full scale occupation and bombardment of his city creep closer in the coming days, friends and supportes in Wales have arranged an event that they hope will give Yahya strength and show that the people of Wales stand with him.

When discussing what writing means to him, Yahya says: “Writing is not just letters on paper; it is an act of survival, a voice of resistance, and a promise of tomorrow.

“It is a commitment to myself, to humanity, and to those who will come after us in this world stained with ash. In moments of bombardment, amidst displacement and hunger, I find in writing a space for deep understanding.

“When words are spoken, they are chosen hastily, but when they are written, they pulsate with deep contemplation, a message that escapes loss.

“My pen writes so that I don’t forget, so that my memory isn’t erased, so that I can survive.

“Yahya Al Hamarna, a Palestinian refugee from under the rubble, writes so that he can live.”

“Luminous” debut

Iskra said of the book: “My Voice Cannot be Bombed is a searing collection of poems written amidst the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

“In his luminous debut, Yahya Al Hamarna documents the brutalities of war alongside the fragile rituals of everyday life-studying, walking to the park, reading poetry, preparing tea, mourning, surviving.

“From the cramped intimacy of displacement tents to the imagined serenity of university lectures and Real Madrid matches, Al Hamarna crafts a poetics of survival: one that refuses despair and insists on the unconquerable dignity of the Palestinian people.

“Through diaristic reflection, stark testimony, and vivid lyricism, Al Hamarna’s work resists the machinery of occupation with quiet force. With grace and fury, My Voice Cannot be Bombed speaks from the rubble and into history.”

Speaking to his supporters in Wales, Yahya shared: “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. To everyone who purchases my little book. Thank you for giving my words new life and time from your hearts.

“The work was born from pain and dreams, from a land still searching for light. With your support, you have given my writing a deeper meaning and indescribable hope.

“Special thanks from the bottom of my heart to my dear friends and event organisers, and to those who read my words and see my heart and smile upon them. I love you all.

“And to everyone who reads my words and stands with Palestine, you are the light in a time of darkness. With all grattitude, Yahya, Palestinian refugee and writer.”

When I Survive

The event is being run in conjunction with Caerdydd Students for Palestine and Cardiff’s Broken Speakers Clwb (@broken.speakers.clwb on instagram) an experimental poetry night who usually meet at The Flute & Tankard on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month.

A range of poets and speakers reading out Yahya’s poems and their own works.

SPAF Collective will also be bringing along their ‘When I Survive’ Quilt which is currently up for grabs in an online raffle, raising funds for both Yahya and their friend Yousef in Gaza. Enter the raffle at https://raffall.com/391618/enter-raffle-to-win-a-hand-made-quilt-hosted-by-spaf-collective

The quilt is part of a larger project which saw some of Wales’s most popular and up and coming musicians contributing tracks to a compilation raising funds for some of their friends in the devastated region: https://whenisurvive.bandcamp.com/album/when-i-survive

The Book Pre-Launch and Birthday Celebration for Yahya Al Hamarna takes place on Monday 11 August at Jacob’s Rooftop Garden, Cardiff, 7pm – late.

Purchase My Voice Cannot Be Bombed online now.