GOBS Poetry Book Club: Haia Mohammed’s The Age of Olive Trees

GOBS Collective invites you to chat and scribble your heart away at our Poetry Book Club, hosted in Nottingham Central Library and via Zoom.

GOBS Poetry Book Club provides a space for poets, writers, readers, performers, and artists to meet over a cuppa, and have a good chinwag over our poetry collection of the month. For the first half of the session we’ll talk about the book, and in the second half we’ll do some focussed writing exercises based on our favourite poems.

It’s preferable that you read the book before you come along, but if you don’t get chance and fancy heading down anyway, just pop along and there’s sure to be something for you to say, listen to, or write. No judgement.

November 2025’s Book:

Haia Mohammed - The Age of Olive Trees

‘Haia Mohammed’s poems feel to me like the most important work being written in the world today. They are staggeringly impactful in their honesty, strength and beauty. The people of Gaza, as Haia says, are different; they write poems that defy death. These pieces are miracles of language and spirit, they are humanity at its best and most resilient.’ — Max Porter

The Age of Olive Trees is the debut pamphlet by Haia Mohammed, a 22-year-old poet and student in Gaza, living through the ongoing genocide.

All proceeds from the sale of this book will go to the author, to help support her and her family.

Please purchase directly from OutSpoken Press’ website.

GOBS Poetry Book Club is also available to attend via Zoom.

Please note we have limited places available both in-person and online, so booking is essential.

GOBS Poetry Book Club is free to attend. Donations welcomed and encouraged. Any donations for this session will be sent to OutSpoken Press for forwarding on to the author.

When: Saturday 22 November, 11am-1pm

Where: Nottingham Central Library (Meeting Room 2), 1 Carrington Street, Nottingham, England, NG1 7FH

Any enquiries can be directed to Bridie at [email protected]

At previous events, we've looked at:

Caleb Femi – Poor

Tolu Agbelusi – Locating Strongwoman

Caroline Bird – The Air Year

Ella Frears – I am the Mother Cat

Kae Tempest – Running Upon the Wires

Roger Robinson – A Portable Paradise

Malika Booker, Sharon Olds & Warsan Shire – Your Family, Your Body (Modern Poets Three)

Inua Ellams – The Actual

Cecilia Knapp – Peach Pig

Yomi Sode – Manorisms

Will Harris – Rendang

Anthony Anaxagorou – Heritage Aesthetics

Hannah Lowe – Chick

Warsan Shire – Blessed is the Daughter Raised by a Voice in her Head

Gboyega Odubanjo – Adam

Brian Bilston – Alexa, what is there to know about love?

Amy Acre – Mothersong

Amanda Gorman – Call Us What We Carry

Ted Kooser and Connie Wanek – Marshmallow Clouds

Vanessa Kisuule - A Recipe for Sorcery

Makalani Bandele - (jopappy and the sentence-makers are) eponymous as funk

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