The Teaching Poetry Guide is an initiative designed to support the teaching of Palestinian poetry in schools.

The project will invite ten Palestinian poets to each select two or three poems from Palestinian literature. Following these selections, each poet will lead two workshops across Palestine, engaging high-school students in discussions, questions, and reflections inspired by the poems.

Drawing on these teaching experiences, the project will develop a collection of exercises, discussion prompts, and classroom activities to support educators in introducing poetry to students. The selected poems and educational materials will be compiled into a published guide for schools and workshops.

The guide is edited by poet and playwright Dalia Taha.

Return to Literature is a literary program offered by the Seraj Cultural Center that provides Palestinian university students with opportunities to participate in non-curricular courses in literature and creative writing.

The program supports emerging writers in Palestine through creative writing workshops and literature courses that invite students to read, think, and learn through novels and poetry. It aims to promote Palestinian literature while encouraging university and high-school students to engage with literary traditions from Palestine and around the world.

The initiative is grounded in the belief that literature demands deep reading and teaches us to become better readers of texts and of the world. Above all, literature offers a window into the emotional, psychological, and social histories embedded within every political moment. 

Writing in Spite Of…

How do we write in a moment as dark as the one the world is witnessing today? What are the ethical and political responsibilities of writing? What details does literature preserve, and how does it become a voice for truth?

In this workshop, participants read texts by writers who continued to write despite pain, censorship, or despair often at pivotal moments in their personal and collective histories. Together, participants develop their own writing while exploring questions of meaning, ethics, and the poetics of what it means to be alive in this moment of history.

Poetry readings create a space for deep listening and collective reflection.

Seraj Library hosted its first poetry evening in the library garden, featuring award-winning poets Ahlam Bsharat, Tareq Al Arabi and Sanabel Qino. The event brought together a large audience to hear selections from both new and previously published works.

Through regular poetry readings, Seraj seeks to connect readers and writers while celebrating contemporary Palestinian poetry.

The Children's Library Program introduces books, reading, and storytelling to children between the ages of 5 and 13. This year, the program focuses on introducing children to the work of Palestinian children's authors.

Led by Marah Nazzal, the program offers bi-weekly creative workshops inspired by children's books. Each workshop begins with a shared reading session and is followed by an art activity that encourages children to explore the story, its characters, and its themes through creative expression.

The monthly program is announced through social media and the library's communication platforms. As the only open children's library in Birzeit, the program continues to attract a growing audience from the town and surrounding neighborhoods.

A Poem for the Hard Days is an initiative by Seraj Library and Cultural Center that invites poets and writers to contribute poems for children aged 7–12.

The initiative aims to encourage the writing of poetry for children and to introduce young readers to the world of poetry from an early age. Participants were invited to write poems about the things that inspire comfort, wonder, curiosity, and joy, drawing inspiration from the small details of everyday life.

As part of the project, more than 25 Palestinian poets were commissioned to write original poems for children. The selected poems will be published in an illustrated poetry collection, bringing together poetry and visual art to create a book that speaks to young readers and nurtures their imagination.

Through this initiative, Seraj seeks to expand the landscape of contemporary Palestinian children's literature and provide children with poems that offer beauty, reflection, and hope during difficult times.