His way with words and the emotions seeped from them mesmerized everyone in the room, tugging at their hearts.

Poet George Abraham visited MN Tuesday, Feb. 27, during 6th and 7th period. They read a few of their poems, spoke about Palestine and Israel, and directed a Q and A session where students were invited to ask him about anything, like how to spread awareness about Gaza, inspirations to write poetry, etc.

“I did not know of him before we were invited to host him, which is what makes this kind of cool because most students haven’t heard of him either, so they get to hear a modern poet and be introduced to a new writer,” Slam Poetry Club sponsor and English teacher Whitney Hansen said.

Abraham is a Palestinian American poet from Jacksonville, FL. Their debut poetry collection, Birthright, won the Arab American Book Award. Slam Poetry Club was invited to host him by the Nebraska Writers Collective, which hosts a visiting writer at least once a year and invites them to conduct different writing workshops for teens.

“He is Palestinian American, and he writes about his culture, so I think students will enjoy that,” Hansen said.

The Nebraska Writers Collective, the organization that funds and runs the Slam Poetry Club, put together the Slam Poetry contest that happens throughout the state every April and is sponsored by the organization. That’s how Slam Poetry was introduced to Abraham.

“I want them[students] to see what poetry actually is,” Hansen said. “I feel like most people, not just students but people in general, think that poetry is old and is namely written by old white men, and I think that they see poetry as something that doesn’t really have a place in modern society so I really hope that people can see what poetry looks like in 2024 from a living breathing writer,”

Abraham’s book, “Birthright”, is structured in three parts: the first part takes place in the U.S. where Abraham talks about his upbringing of being Palestinian, southern, and queer. In part two he speaks about his trips to Palestine, and in part three, he writes about the aftermath of visiting Palestine and then going back to the U.S., struggling to determine who and where he considers home to be.

“One of the biggest challenges I had was reckoning with all the selves I was, as I wrote this book. I wanted to build space in the book for all of my former selves. I wanted to show the self I was in high school struggling with queerness, and the self I was when I first visited Palestine, and the self I was and [am] still becoming in this after space of return,” Abraham said in a video by Moraine Valley Community Library.

One question a student asked Abraham was what inspired them to write poetry. According to Abraham, poets are inclined to be naturally curious about what’s around people, the world, and why it is the way it is.

“I majored in engineering when I was an undergrad, and through all that, I was always writing. I was always going to poetry slams and immersing myself in writing, I was always reading poetry, so there is always that impulse wherever I end up going,” Abraham said.

Freshman Yessinia Garcia, a member of Slam Poetry Club, has an interest in poetry and thought they would find inspiration at the poetry event.

“I liked him a lot because he was very expressive with the poetry. He was fantastic and was a very bright and cool-looking guy,” Garcia said.

Freshman Katelyn Omer, another member of Slam Poetry Club, heard about the event through Hansen and thought it would be a cool experience for her.

“His poetry was so amazing, it was very deep about his past and his experience being Palestinian-American, and he was just super down to earth and chill. He let us ask questions about his life, how he started, and what he loved about poetry,” Omer said.

Most readers might say that Abraham’s work is raw and deep. This is what Omer felt as well.

Abraham is currently an executive editor of the Whiting Award-winning journal, Mizna. Their collaboration includes co-editing a Palestinian poetry anthology with Noor Hindi, a Palestinian poet and reporter. This work is set to come out in 2025.

“He just puts so much of himself into his poems, and one of his works was a shoutout to Mandal singing Hallelujah, which was very cool to see. He honored other people with his work and just the way he said it, you knew it meant a lot to him” Omer said.

Feeling more connected to her peers, Omer left the event feeling even more inspired to write and it is safe to say many other attendees felt the same way. All in all, the event was a success in people’s eyes. Hansen and the Slam Poetry community hope this event will allow MN to host more talented poets and writers in the