If I Must Die: Poetry and Prose by Refaat Alareer

“If I must die, let it bring hope, let it be a tale.”

This rich, elegiac compilation of work from the late Palestinian poet and professor, Refaat Alareer, brings together his marvelous poetry and deeply human writing about literature, teaching, politics, and family.

The renowned poet and literature professor Refaat Alareer was killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City alongside his brother, sister, and nephews in December 2023.

He was just forty-four years old, but had already established a worldwide reputation that was further enhanced when, in the wake of his death, the poem that gives this book its title became a global sensation.

If I Must Die is included here, alongside Refaat’s other poetry.

Refaat wrote extensively about a range of topics: teaching Shakespeare and the way Shylock could be appreciated by young Palestinian students; the horrors of living under repeated brutal assaults in Gaza, one of which, in 2014, killed another of his brothers; and the generosity of Palestinians to each other, fighting, in the face of it all, to be the one paying at the supermarket checkout.

Such pieces, some never before published, have been curated here by one of Refaat’s closest friends and collaborators.

This collection forms a fitting testament to a remarkable writer, educator, and activist, one whose voice will not be silenced by death but will continue to assert the power of learning and humanism in the face of barbarity.

Compiled with an introduction by Yousef M. Aljamal

Foreword by Susan Abulhawa

This rich, elegiac compilation of work from the late Palestinian poet and professor, Refaat Alareer, brings together his marvelous poetry and deeply human writing about literature, teaching, politics, and family.

“Offering a deeply personal window on Israeli violence in Gaza, this shouldn’t be missed.”
- Publishers Weekly

“Refaat left us, but his word must not.”
- Mosab Abu Toha

“Compelling . . . a glimpse into a restless political and literary mind, one that was still rising to the height of its powers.”
- The Guardian

“Crafted with such meticulous detail . . . Refaat’s dispatches offer the poet’s most intimate and vulnerable thoughts.”
- Drop Site News

“One of the most important literary voices of Palestine . . . Refaat has changed the lives of countless people, in Gaza and far beyond.”
- Current Affairs

“Transforms trauma, death and despair into words and into poetry, occasionally rising to true greatness.”
- Jewish Voice for Labour

“Fragments of a visionary's blueprint for liberation.”
- Middle East Eye

“The 'Voice of Gaza' lives on.”
- New Arab

“Remarkable . . . a tragic document of genocide, and a beacon of hope for a Palestinian future.”
- The Morning Star