This week, on The ABR Podcast, we feature Sahar Rabah’s winning essay from the 2026 Calibre Essay Prize, ‘Beyond reality and dreams’. The Calibre Essay Prize, now in its twentieth year, is one of the world’s leading prizes for an original essay in English.

Rabah, who grew up in Gaza and left late last year, takes us behind the livestreamed mass destruction in Gaza to the ‘small, undeclared wars’ that are ‘not shown on television’. Moving between the speaker’s broken dreams, her nightmares, and her intimate, lived trauma, ‘Between reality and dreams’ bears powerful witness to the human cost of conflict in Gaza.

Sahar Rabah writes poetry, essays, and short fiction in Arabic and English. Her poems have appeared in The Massachusetts Review, World Literature Today, LitHub, and The Markaz Review. Here is Sahar Rabah with ‘Beyond reality and dreams’, published in the May issue of ABR.

 

This week, on The ABR Podcast, we feature Sahar Rabah&rsquo;s winning essay from the 2026 Calibre Essay Prize, &lsquo;Beyond reality and dreams&rsquo;. The Calibre Essay Prize, now in its twentieth year, is one of the world&rsquo;s leading prizes for an original essay in English.
Rabah, who grew up in Gaza and left late last year, takes us behind the livestreamed mass destruction in Gaza to the &lsquo;small, undeclared wars&rsquo; that are &lsquo;not shown on television&rsquo;. Moving between the speaker&rsquo;s broken dreams, her nightmares, and her intimate, lived trauma, &lsquo;Between reality and dreams&rsquo; bears powerful witness to the human cost of conflict in Gaza.
Sahar Rabah writes poetry, essays, and short fiction in Arabic and English. Her poems have appeared in The Massachusetts Review, World Literature Today, LitHub, and The Markaz Review. Here is Sahar Rabah with &lsquo;Beyond reality and dreams&rsquo;, published in the May issue of ABR.
&nbsp;

Welcome to The ABR Podcast, produced by Australian Book Review. Released every Thursday, The ABR Podcast features a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

For more information about ABR, visit our website, www.australianbookreview.com.au

Welcome to The ABR Podcast, produced by Australian Book Review. Released every Thursday, The ABR Podcast features a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.
For more information about&nbsp;ABR, visit our website, <a href="http://www.australianbookreview.com.au">www.australianbookreview.com.au</a>

Welcome to The ABR Podcast, produced by Australian Book Review. Released every Thursday, The ABR Podcast features a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

The ABR Podcast

ABR is delighted to introduce its brand-new podcast, The ABR Podcast.

Released fortnightly every Wednesday, The ABR Podcast will feature a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on the iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

ABR&nbsp;is delighted to introduce its brand-new podcast,&nbsp;The ABR Podcast.
Released fortnightly every Wednesday,&nbsp;The ABR Podcast&nbsp;will feature a range of literary highlights, such as reviews, poetry, fiction, interviews, and commentary. Subscribe on the iTunes, Google, or Spotify Podcasts, or whichever app you use to listen to your favourite podcasts.

This week, on The ABR Podcast, we feature Sahar Rabah’s winning essay from the 2026 Calibre Essay Prize, ‘Beyond reality and dreams’. The Calibre Essay Prize, now in its twentieth year, is one of the world’s leading prizes for an original essay in English.   Rabah, who grew up in Gaza and left late last year, takes us behind the livestreamed mass destruction in Gaza to the ‘small, undeclared wars’ that are ‘not shown on television’. Moving between the speaker’s broken dreams, her nightmares, and her intimate, lived trauma, ‘Between reality and dreams’ bears powerful witness to the human cost of conflict in Gaza.   Sahar Rabah writes poetry, essays, and short fiction in Arabic and English. Her poems have appeared in The Massachussetts Review, World Literature Today, LitHub, and The Markaz Review. Here is Sahar Rabah with ‘Beyond reality and dreams’, published in the May issue of ABR.