• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Samira Ahmed

Samira Ahmed

Writer

  • Home
  • About
    • Press Kit
  • Books
    • Young Adult
    • Middle Grade
    • Comics
    • Anthologies
  • Events
  • Press
  • Contact

Ink Knows No Borders

Ink Knows No Borders

Poems of the Immigrant and Refugee Experience

This collection of sixty-four poems by poets who come from all over the world shares the experience of first- and second-generation young adult immigrants and refugees. Whether it’s cultural and language differences, homesickness, social exclusion, racism, stereotyping, or questions of identity, the Dreamers, immigrants, and refugee poets included here encourage readers to honor their roots as well as explore new paths, offering empathy and hope. Many of the struggles described are faced by young people everywhere: isolation, self-doubt, confusion, and emotional dislocation. But also joy, discovery, safety, and family. This is a hopeful, beautiful, and meaningful book for any reader.

AmazonBarnes & NobleIndieboundkobo
Triangle Square, Seven Stories Press, 2019
Patrice Vecchione, Alyssa Raymond
ELIZABETH ACEVEDO | SAMIRA AHMED | KAVEH AKBAR | EAVAN BOLAND | CHEN CHEN | SAFIA ELHILLO | MARTÍN ESPADA | CARLOS ANDRÉS GÓMEZ | JOSEPH O. LEGASPI | ADA LIMÓN | EMTITHAL MAHMOUD | BAO PHI | ALBERTO RÍOS | ERIKA L. SÁNCHEZ | GARY SOTO | CHRYSANTHEMUM TRAN | OCEAN VUONG | JAVIER ZAMORA . . . and many others.

Praise for Ink Knows No Borders

An intricate, hard-won tapestry of poetic experience, with density best suited to thoughtful browsing or individual readalouds rather than reading straight through but with many resonant poems that will strike a chord either of recognition or realization with young readers.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

This symphony of poetry is a necessary series of bruises and balms that will comfort those who have endured, uplift those who continue to struggle, and educate others.

Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Though aimed at teens, this vivid, vital collection … should find a ready audience with adults as well…. With bravura and hard-won insight, these poems explore identity, survival and home from first- and second-generation perspectives, offering a multiplicity of impressions and memories.

Mary Quattlebaum
Washington Post

Poems as piercing and reflective as the shards of a shattered mirror offer stunning glimpses into the lives and experiences of immigrants and refugees. Sixty-four pieces (many previously published) in a variety of forms capture an outcry of voices mourning loss, celebrating survival, breaking and remaking self and home.

The Horn Book, starred review

We are a nation of immigrants, but as we grow further away from our roots we tend to forget. These poems help us to reconnect to both negative states (poverty, separation-anxiety, fear of the unknown etc.) and new opportunities and challenges.

Wicked Local

I was moved again and again by the poems in this brave, beautiful and necessary collection. I found echoes of myself in many of the pieces, and I know so many young immigrants and Americans will find themselves, too. But it goes beyond that. I wish this book would be taught in homogenous communities, too, so readers with little understanding of immigration will have the chance to see its humanity. This is the most important book we will read this year.

Matt de la Peña
NY Times bestselling and Newbery Award winning author

Vecchione and Raymond have gathered 64 poets from all over the world, their poetic voices as diverse as their experiences. Yet, they hold one element in common: a belief in dignity as an essential human right. … these stories should resonate with youth who feel life deeply

Booklist

An urgent and timely new poetry collection.

Nina McLaughlin
Boston Globe

This piercing poetry collection’s sixty-four pieces (many previously published) in a variety of forms mourn loss, celebrate survival, and explore breaking and remaking self and home. The poets—immigrants and refugees themselves, or from immigrant households—tackle topics including racism, displacement, assimilation, and resilience. The contributors all offer timely, culturally specific frames for the universal struggle of growing into oneself. Appended with brief poet biographies.

The Horn Book, recommended titles for 2019
« Love, Hate & Other Filters
Internment »
  • © Copyright 2025 Samira Ahmed. All Rights Reserved.
  • • Privacy Policy
  • Created with ✨ by Moxie Design Studios
This site uses cookies to enhance your experience.
Accept Privacy Policy
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT
Scroll Up