Poet Suheir Hammad was born in Amman, Jordan, to refugee Palestinian parents. She immigrated with her family to Brooklyn, New York, when she was just five years old. Inspired by poet-performers such as Nikki Giovanni, Hammad has traveled the world reciting her poetry in various venues and universities. Her writings have appeared in over a dozen anthologies. Her books include BREAKING POEMS, ZAATARDIVA, and BORN PALESTINIAN, BORN BLACK. She has written for and performed in the Russell Simmons Presents Def Poetry Jam on Broadway and appears in the Cannes Film Festival Official Selection Salt of This Sea.