On Wednesday evening, the Oscar Wilde Centre at Trinity College, in collaboration with Poetry Ireland, hosted an event dedicated to the life and work of Heba Abu Nada — a Palestinian poet, novelist and women’s rights activist.
Heba Abu Nada was born in June 1991 and died in October 2023 in an Israeli airstrike. Despite her short life, she left behind a remarkable body of work. Her debut novel, Oxygen is Not for the Dead (2017), won second place in the 20th annual Sharjah Award for Arab Creativity in the United Arab Emirates and deals with the protests that swept across the Arab world in 2011. Her poetry, much of which she shared on social media, gained wide recognition for its emotional reflections on life in Gaza.
A Sister’s Story.
The evening opened with a reading of one of Abu Nada’s poems, a piece about hope. Lines such as
“You were first created out of love,
so carry nothing but love
to those who are trembling.”
reveal the lyrical grace that defines her writing.
After a brief introduction, Heba Abu Nada’s sister was invited to speak. Accompanied by photographs and video clips, she offered an intimate glimpse into Heba’s life, not only as a writer and biochemist, but above all as a sister and friend.
“Heba was the eldest of us,” she said. “She cared for her younger siblings like a second mother, always putting others before herself.”
Although she initially studied Arabic literature, Heba later pursued a degree in biochemistry. She worked as a scientific leader, helping students to become “leaders of the future”, while continuing to teach young poets and organise literary events.
“Everyone in Gaza called her their closest friend”, her sister told. When asked what message Heba would most have wanted to share, her sister replied simply that Heba was “the voice of the Palestinian people”.
A Voice from Gaza.
The evening concluded with another of Abu Nada’s poems, this time about war, which reflects the duality at the centre of her work: a belief in humanity’s capacity for love and compassion, even in the face of war and violence. It was also the feeling one could take away from the evening: sorrow and hope existing side by side.
