Polly Sawabini

Polly Sawabini (she/they) is a Palestinian American writer and organizer based in New Orleans. Since moving to the city in 2010, Polly has been involved in mutual aid and community support, organizing with the Palestinian Youth Movement, co-founding the Ida Support Network, and serving as a member of Innocence Project New Orleans’ Community Advocates. Polly’s creative work explores questions of god, identity, diasporic grief, and the tenderness of survival. They’ve performed poetry across New Orleans, including at Pillowtalk and New Orleans Solidarity Storytellers, and remain committed to using language as both a witness and an offering. Polly and her writing partner, Thafer Abu Qamir (he/him), are the recipients of the 2025 Antenna Publishing Award. Their forthcoming book of essays and poems, Title TBD, will be published in late 2026.