Muslim Feminist Poetics

Join us to celebrate the launch of Ather Zia's new collection of poetry, In Kashmir: Writing Under Occupation (AGITATE! Publishing, 2025). The event will also feature readings from a fantastic lineup of poets: dena harry saleh and Uminya Najaer. Don't miss this special gathering which centers Muslim feminist poetics across the varied yet interlinked geographies of Kashmir, Palestine, and Sudan. The event will be moderated by Salwa Kazi.

PDF download of the poetry collection is free and available to all attendees. While the event is free, RSVPs are highly encouraged.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS
Ather Zia, Ph.D., is a political anthropologist, poet, short fiction writer, and a columnist. She teaches at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. Ather is the author of Resisting Disappearances: Military Occupation and Women’s Activism in Kashmir (University of Washington Press, 2019) and co-editor of Can You Hear Kashmiri Women Speak (Women Unlimited 2020), Resisting Occupation in Kashmir (UPenn Press,2018) and A Desolation called Peace: Voices From Kashmir (Harper Collins, 2019). She has published a poetry collection “The Frame” (1999) and another collection is forthcoming. Ather’s ethnographic poetry on Kashmir has won an award from the Society for Humanistic Anthropology. She is the founder-editor of Kashmir Lit and is the co-founder of Critical Kashmir Studies Collective, an interdisciplinary network of scholars working on the Kashmir region.

dena harry saleh is a queer and trans Muslim Palestinian living on the unceded lands of the Ute, Cheyenne, and Arapaho peoples, as well as many other tribes, and works as a multi-modal artist and scholar. They are a PhD student whose research focuses on the creation and implications of queer and trans Palestinian cultural production. Their writing has been featured in Disability Visibility Justice (the blog of the late Alice Wong), American Quarterly, the Black, Indigenous & Trans of Color Histories Lab, Apogee Journal, Marathon Lit online magazine, and in an anthology of poetry called "A Free Palestine" they co-edited and published in 2025.

Umniya Najaer is the 2025–2026 Chancellor’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Ethnic Studies and the inaugural Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for African and African American Studies (CAAAS). Her poetry chapbook, Armeika, was published in 2018 by Akashic Books as part of the African Poetry Book Fund’s First-Generation African Poets series. This collection explores stories of the global Sudanese diaspora, including the Biyout al Ashbah, (or 'Ghost Houses'), the unofficial government torture sites, the experiences of refugees and asylum seekers, and intimate portrayals of female genital cutting. She is currently at work on her debut poetry collection. Dr. Najaer is a proud fellow of the Cave Canem Foundation.

Dr. Salwa Kazi (they/them) is a Kokni Muslim scholar. They study the entanglements of caste, anti-Blackness, anti-Muslim racism, and gender as rhetorical forces that make our worlds.

EVENT SCHEDULE

4:00pm Doors open

4:10pm Welcome

4:15pm Readings by dena and Umniya

4:45pm Readings by Ather

5:15pm Q&A

ACCESSIBILITY

Parking: Metered street parking is available (parallel parking) on Market St. Paid lots are available within a few blocks. The closest one is on 21st and Market St.

Entrance Access: Our front door is at street level and manually operated, accessible for wheelchairs and mobility aids. The rest of the block has sidewalks raised by five steps; however, the bike lane offers a step-free route down the block with minimal car traffic.

Restrooms: All-gender restrooms. Just like at home.

Communication: All staff on site speak English. There will be one Spanish speaking staff member. We welcome communication via translation apps (Google Translate is available). While we do not use ASL, we’re happy to communicate through apps or other tools that work for you.

Alcohol Policy: No alcohol will be served or permitted at this event.

Masks: Masks are encouraged and supplied.

Questions or Requests: Please contact us at [email protected] with any accessibility needs or questions.

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Host or Publisher MATTER, Ltd.