hiya! yesterday i went to Gay’s The Word bookshop in London and ive never been happier.
i recently read 2 fics that quickly became some of my favourites, and the second instalment has a bookshop owned by our very own Sirius Black, that is very much inspired by this beautiful business.
i was so bloody emotional going in there. in fact, i’m sure the person working there thought i was going through something terrible when i handed them the millions of books id picked up to buy, sniffling and smiling maniacally.
anyway. if you’re local, or likely to be in london, i highly highly recommend stopping in to this little safe haven. really the most gorgeous place, with a rich history and an important purpose. and of course, a tonne of fantastic books to choose from!
the stories i’m talking about are Led by Light of a Star Sweetly Gleaming & Pages of You by @wolfpants which you can find on ao3. <3
Circumstance (2011). Dir. Maryam Keshavarz
Laurence Anyways (2012). Dir. Xavier Dolan
Appropriate Behaviour (2014). Dir. Desiree Akhavan
In Between (2016). Dir. Maysaloun Hamoud
No Hard Feelings (2020). Dir. Faraz Shariat
Breaking Fast (2021). Dir. Mike Mosallam
Burning Days (2022). Dir. Emin Alper
The Blue Caftan (2022). Dir. Maryam Touzani
El Houb (2022). Dir. Shariff Nasr
The Persian Version (2023). Dir. Maryam Keshavarz
I am half Lebanese. The world has not been kind to me.
I made this back in October. It is a piece for the victims of the Beirut port blast, and every other avoidable tragedy my people have suffered. A beautiful green skirt that carries the weight of forgotten handprints.
However, I made this after Israel began its genocide against Palestine. Being Middle Eastern, I know the piece will be seen by westerners as something related to that genocide, because individual countries do not exist to them.
This was not made for Palestinians, or any other of my suffering neighbors. But in being viewed as such, it has become a piece of solidarity as well as remembrance now. I wear it on strike days and on days where the fight feels slow.