Rana Tahir is a poet, artist, and educator living in Portland, OR. She earned her MFA from Pacific University and is a Kundiman Fellow. Her work has previously appeared in Print Oriented Bastards, Fresh Literary Magazine, and Catch among others.

Books mentioned in the interview:

Artists of the Harlem Renaissance: Countee Cullen, Cavendish Square Publishing (2016)

Choose Your Own Adventure Spies!: Noor Inayat Khan, ChooseCo LLC (2020)

"Asrar" Oil on Canvas, 24 x 16 inches (This painting is inspired by and named after the Kuwaiti resistance member Asrar al-Qabandi. The Kuwaiti flag is painted upside down, a symbol for distress.)

"Crossings" Oil on Canvas, 16 x 24 inches

"Bukhoor" Oil on Canvas, 10 x 5 ft. (This is the painting we talked about. Bukhoor is a type of incense made from wood chips soaked in oil, it is a staple in households in the middle east. Bukhoor is also the name of the manuscript of these Gulf War poems.)