About this Event
We are thrilled to host poet Maha Hashwi to celebrate the release of her collection: The Pomegranate Is a Grenade: Poems.
The event will feature poetry readings by Maha Hashwi, Kamelya Youssef, and Hajar Baban, a moderated conversation and Q&A, followed by an author meet & greet and book signing.
When: Friday, October 30th at 6:30 pm (doors open at 6:15pm)
Where: Kitab Midtown- 422 W Willis St, Detroit, Michigan 48201-1702
Copies of will be available for purchase during the event, and participants will have the opportunity to get their books signed by Maha Hashwi.
About the Book: The Pomegranate Is a Grenade: Poems.
A place to belong for anyone caught between cultures, countries, or selves.
The Pomegranate is a Grenade is a debut poetry collection that examines what it means to grow up Arab and Muslim in the United States, where home is both inherited and continually reshaped. Maha Hashwi draws from the textures of an immigrant household—food shared across generations, religious traditions carried forward, the weight of displacement, and the small, steady acts of love that hold a family together.
Hashwi’s poems move between personal narrative and cultural memory, exploring how identity changes with time, migration, and the stories passed down through parents and community. She writes of resistance, tenderness, and the contradictions of belonging to more than one place, offering readers a vivid look at the emotional landscape of the diaspora.
Honest, accessible, and rooted in lived experience, this collection invites readers into the rooms, rituals, and relationships that shape a life between countries—and asks what we carry, and what carries us, when we call more than one place home.
About the Author
Maha Hashwi is a storyteller and spoken word poet. She is unapologetic in her identities as a Muslim and Arab woman. Her debut poetry book, The Pomegranate is a Grenade, will be published September 1st, 2026. She hosts a writing workshop in NYC called Anyone Can Write encouraging all to put pen to paper. She grew up in Dearborn, Michigan and now lives in New York City.
About the Featured Poets
Hajjar Baban is a Pakistan-born Afghan Kurdish poet. Her first full length book of poems was selected for the 2025 National Poetry Series by Jake Skeets and is forthcoming from Milkweed Editions.
Kamelya Omayma Youssef is a writer from Dearborn, Michigan, with roots in Jibbayn and Shmistar, Lebanon. She is the author of (Wendy’s Subway, 2022), winner of the 2020 Carolyn Bush Award.
Event venue & nearby stays
Kitab Midtown, 422 West Willis Street, Detroit, United States
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