Zeina Azzam

Zeina Azzam is a Palestinian American poet, writer, editor, and community activist. She is currently the Poet Laureate of the City of Alexandria, Virginia, where she also volunteers for local organizations that advocate for the civil rights of vulnerable communities. Her chapbook, Bayna Bayna, In-Between, was released in 2021 by The Poetry Box, which nominated one of her poems for a Pushcart Prize. Zeina’s poems are published or are forthcoming in Pleiades, Passager, Gyroscope, Pensive Journal, Streetlight Magazine, Cutleaf Journal, Mizna, Sukoon Magazine, Barzakh, Making Levantine Cuisine, Tales from Six Feet Apart, Bettering American Poetry, Making Mirrors: Writing/Righting by and for Refugees, Gaza Unsilenced, and others. An advocate for Palestinian human rights and development initiatives, Zeina serves as a mentor for We Are Not Numbers, a writing program for youth in Gaza. She holds an M.A. in Arabic literature from Georgetown University, an M.A. in sociology from George Mason University, and a B.A. in psychology from Vassar College.