In person at Brookline Booksmith! Join us for an evening of poetry with Ayşe Guvenilir, Mariam Dogar, & Maisha Munawwara Prome, sharing work from the anthology Our Ancestors Did Not Breathe This Air.

This event is part of Third Thursdays Poetry, a monthly reading series at Brookline Booksmith.

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Third Thursdays Poetry: May

Join us as three poets share their work from Our Ancestors Did Not Breathe This Air, a poetry collection exploring family, identity, and homeland.

Our Ancestors Did Not Breathe This Air brings fresh voices of poignancy and a much-needed representation in modern poetry. From the scents of a bustling street market in India to the warmth of stories rooted in Venezuela to snippets of college days shared at MIT, the poetry in this book features an ache for grounds no longer walked upon. With a range of distinct styles and voices, the poets' nuanced self-expression amounts to a piece that is both a prayer and a rebellion. Their words, introspective and reminiscing, witty and thoughtful, are an ode to that which makes them who they are and where they come from. Simultaneously, their voices are a rejection of dangerous stigmas, cultural taboos, and oppressive systems. In both verse and image, Our Ancestors Did Not Breathe This Air is a bold and unfiltered collection recounting moments, tears, and dreams that have been generations in the making. The poems in this collection are accompanied by full-color illustrations and photographs.

Mariam Eman Dogar is a Pakistani-American poet who grew up in Dubai and Massachusetts and writes about homeland and identity. She is currently living in Brookline and training to be a physician at Harvard Medical School.

Maisha M. Prome is pursuing her PhD in biomaterials at Yale University. She has moved back and forth between Bangladesh and the US throughout her life and loves all things creative including baking, crocheting, and writing fiction.

Ayşe Guvenilir was born into a family with a Venezuelan mother, Turkish father, and three older brothers; she grew up in Texas, France, and New York. Ayşe is currently a researcher in the Biomechatronics Group at the MIT Media Lab, and uses writing as a means of connection, reflection, and relaxation.