Minneapolis – Minnesota Writers Off the Page: Tarik Dobbs

Join us for a special Poetry Month event featuring poet Tarik Dobbs in conversation with Sagirah Shahid, discussing Dobbs’ powerful collection, “Nazar Boy.” This thought-provoking work explores themes of identity, surveillance, and the complexities of Arab American life through sharp, evocative verse.

Following the discussion, audience members are invited to participate in a Q&A session, enjoy light refreshments, and have further informal conversation with the featured speakers. Copies of “Nazar Boy” will be available for purchase, and the evening will finish with a book signing.

About the Author
Tarik Dobbs (b. 1997, Dearborn, MI) is a writer, artist, and Poetry Foundation Ruth Lilly & Dorothy Sargent Rosenberg Poetry Fellow. Dobbs holds an M.F.A. in creative writing from the University of Minnesota and an M.F.A. in art, theory, practice from Northwestern University. Dobbs is assistant professor of English in creative writing (poetry) at Southwest Minnesota State University. The debut poetry collections by Dobbs, Nazar Boy (2024) and Dearbornistan (2026), are from Haymarket Books.

About the Moderator
Sagirah Shahid is an African American Muslim poet, editor, arts administrator, and performance artist from Minneapolis, MN. She is a recipient of awards, fellowship, and residencies from the Loft Literary Center, Minnesota Center for Book Arts, Twin Cities Media Alliance, Shangri La Museum of Islamic Art and Muslim Advocates, Strive Publishing, Wisdom Ways, Nicollet Lanterns, and 826 MSP. Sagirah’s prose and poetry have been published by Mizna, The Drinking Gourd, Insight News, Winter Tangerine, Pollen, Blue Minaret, Puerto Del Sol, Paper Darts, Juked, Walker Art Center, About Place Journal, the Saint Paul Almanac, and elsewhere.

This event is presented in partnership with New Arab American Theater Works, a Minnesota based collective of SWANA (Southwest Asian/North African) playwrights, musicians, and performing artists, and is part of the Minnesota Writers Off the Page series, bringing the inspirational voices of Minnesota’s authors directly to you.

Registration

This event is free, however registration is required.

Registration Questions: registrations@mnhum.org

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