Omar Sakr
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omarsakr.bsky.social
Omar Sakr
@omarsakr.bsky.social
6K followers 690 following 700 posts
Queer Muslim, Arab-Turkish Baba. Author of four poetry collections and a novel. Now: The Nightmare Sequence (UQP, 2025).
https://linktr.ee/OmarjSakr
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omarsakr.bsky.social
Dear Americans, even if your current rapist president did fellate your former sexual harasser-in-chief, one gay consensual blow job is not scandalous - the genocide these creeps are running and their pedophile rape island shenanigans easily top the rotten shit cake you lot call the status quo.
Tweet from Natalie Wynn (@ contrapoints): If there's really a photo of Trump blowing Bill Clinton, that's a wrap on the US right? Pack it up, roll credits, play the Curb Your Enthusiasm song
November 15, 2025 at 5:47 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
Today I tried to explain to my hysterical toddler why his hair is falling out in clumps.
It went about as well as you could expect (awfully). Later, after his midday nap, we had a head-shaving party where I let him shave my head, and his uncle and cousin did theirs on FaceTime.
Omar with a shaved head and stubble. Standing in the light. Omar sitting on a chair festooned with balloons and ribbons. His son is standing on a step-stool behind him holding a shaver, while his mum guides his hand.
November 8, 2025 at 7:45 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
A poem I wrote some months ago showed up at my door today in the first issue of the relaunched Southerly magazine.
OMAR SAKR Walking to day-care in the genocide The primary selling point of a pram Has never been articulated by an ad. My son yells out his discoveries - Tree, rock, motorbike, cloud, a bee! I walk behind him unseen, grief-struck And let the tears come without fear That my weeping will drive him To worry. O holy carriage, hold fast His wonder, and my wet confession Of this, a father's sole reprieve.
November 4, 2025 at 6:00 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
Bunch of people trying to come in here and talk about a range of other nonsense while accusing me of missing the point lmao. Children. I beg you to learn to read. It’s an immediate block for anyone trying to waste my time. I am speaking to the literal issue named in the article.
The actor-comedian described rather nervously warming up for the event with a set in Bahrain to get a feel for what an audience in the region would find funny (and acceptable) and then performing at the Saudi Arabia festival's opening night on Friday. The event has been billed by organizers as the biggest comedy festival in the world. But its performers (which also include Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., Kevin Hart, and about 50 others) have come under intense criticism - even from some other comics - given the kingdom's history of oppression and human rights abuses.
October 1, 2025 at 10:45 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
First of all, I named the literal issue in the article. You named something else entirely—and it’s equally stupid.
The actor-comedian described rather nervously warming up for the event with a set in Bahrain to get a feel for what an audience in the region would find funny (and acceptable) and then performing at the Saudi Arabia festival's opening night on Friday. The event has been billed by organizers as the biggest comedy festival in the world. But its performers (which also include Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K., Kevin Hart, and about 50 others) have come under intense criticism - even from some other comics - given the kingdom's history of oppression and human rights abuses.
October 1, 2025 at 10:33 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
The Nightmare Sequence is out now in the US through Nightboat Books. Here’s an excerpt of Safdar’s art - one of his sequences is called “genocide culture”. NB: All artist royalties will be donated to Palestinian aid nightboat.org/book/the-nig...
Yellow tile with the cover of The Nightmare Sequence by Omar Sakr and Safdar Ahmed, introduction by George Abraham
September 16, 2025 at 10:57 PM
omarsakr.bsky.social
Another Father’s Day in the genocide. 700 days of relentless massacres, bombings, and torture.

There has never been a weaker or more evil human population on this earth. We have earned for ourselves that distinction, to have allowed everything we have seen to continue for two goddamn years.
Father's Day in the genocide People love the poems about my mother, About mothers, about women and their children. I know why. Even when my mother wields a blade in a verse, We remember to ask, who gave her the blade? Who showed her how to swing? How to sharpen Her voice to a point? How to beat the body black? Who redefined for her what is tolerable? She is no innovator, I tell you. What of the father behind the father? How far Back in time must you go to land at a kind life or loving Finale? According to the Prophet, peace be upon him, Fathers form the middle of your gate to paradise. Since mine was absent in lite, my gate is not a gate at all But an arch through which all the winds can travel. Baba! I still love you, O broken door! Ana Abu Nayirr. My son, you who changed my name, know this please: Whenever I should hurt you, I am the only one to blame And it will fall on me to mourn ever having marred heaven. Father's Day in the genocide (reprise) My father, the blade, I wield in verse To redefine what is tolerable, To sharpen my voice. Swing, Baba! Change my name To love, to who I arch for, the body I paradise. O broken door! Remember to ask, what is peace At the point of a blade? What is a father absent a mother? What is a people absent love? What is a son absent a land? A hurt wind, a marred finale, A prophet of blame.
September 7, 2025 at 7:26 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
Recognition in the genocide.
Recognition in the genocide for Anas Al-Sharif I emerged from sleep with the blood of Anas thick on my eyelashes, I came into the kitchen bowed under his assassination, I splashed my way toward a bag of bread to feed my children and not his, I looked into the mirror and saw only rubble, I popped a squat over the toilet and dribbled out another worthless presser, I flushed away the two-state "solution", good riddance to rank nonsense, that colonial stink; there are and have always been two states- one for the living, one for the dead- and Anthony Albanese can recognise neither. O Anas! You told us to use your blood as light, and so l pour it here on an F-35 country telling another to lay down its arms in order to be seen as stately by its murderers. I pour it everywhere, one body, one light, and everything unforgivable burns. Omar Sakr
August 11, 2025 at 8:06 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
The all rhetoric and no action club in one table, a pack of genocidal hypocrites.
ISRAEL'S WAR ON GAZA Trade data between Israel and countries demanding its war on Gaza 'must end now' More than two dozen countries have issued a statement calling for an immediate end to Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, saying suffering there has 'reached new depths. According to the latest data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), each signatory country in 2023 engaged in a significant trade of goods — both imports and exports — with Israel. Source: Al Jazeera, Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) July 23, 2025 @AJLabs ALJAZEERA
July 28, 2025 at 11:43 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
“Where are the sanctions? The expulsion of Israeli ambassadors? The suspension of arms shipments? The closure of embassies? There is nothing, because this outrage is not genuine.” Stop falling for the rhetoric. Look at their actions. open.substack.com/pub/sakr/p/r...
It's not just that the current crop of statements expressing horror and condemnation come so late, and so bereft of any kind of reparation for the harm done, but because it goes no further than token rhetoric. On the weekend, Israel illegally boarded a civilian humanitarian ship that was bringing aid to Gaza, kidnapping the crew aboard, including two Australian citizens, Tan Safi and Robert Martin. Australia's PM Anthony Albanese was doing press at the same time, using his strongest rhetoric to date about how "indefensible" Israel's actions are, how "heartbreaking" these images of starved kids are, while simultaneously continuing to express support for Israel. He said nothing about the two Australians who have been kidnapped. He said nothing about the fact that his government continues to supply Israel with critical jet parts, weapon parts, and weapons. Even putting that aside, where are the sanctions? The expulsion of Israeli ambassadors? The suspension of arms shipments? The closure of embassies? There is nothing, because this outrage is not genuine. It is theatre designed to gaslight the public into thinking they care. There is no truth to it.
July 28, 2025 at 5:15 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
This is the last poem in my book, The Nightmare Sequence. I was thinking about it today when I saw this—not new of course, hence the poem, but rather a repetition of atrocity, of desecration.
PALESTINE UPDATE JULY 11 Israel desecrates mass graves and steals bodies during withdrawal from Khan Younis The grave contained approximately 121 people — civilians massacred in Israel's genocide on Gaza. Their remains were exhumed and taken away in a container, smuggled out of the Gaza Strip. TAKE ACTION FOR PALESTINE
July 12, 2025 at 10:28 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
Every minute another video offers
A view of death without love
Which is how I define apocalypse.
Privilege in the genocide by Omar Sakr In the morgue, my baby cousin Whose first breath was final, Lay still, a life I could cup in one. I have not moved from this, Nor will I. I was lucky to see him So briefly. Another privilege: I Held my grandmother's hand As she took her last breath. I kissed her ghost bismillah. I closed her eyes and her eyes Will stay with me until I depart. Every minute another video offers A view of death without love Which is how I define apocalypse. This much I can offer you: My feet are rooted in sorrow-tilled Fields. I know how to hold us, The dead, the failures, the glories. & when I don't, I tell necessary lies. Our enemies fail to understand. They razed all the cemeteries In a futile frenzy to injure dirt And time. Habibi, we are eternal. We can enter loss from anywhere. Both of my graves, here and there, Remain alive in me. Maybe we Should stop talking about the earth As if there is an earth: it's memory We inhabit, nothing you can keep.
July 12, 2025 at 10:25 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
As we have been saying for 2 years now, despite the government’s deflections and outright lies, this country is deeply complicit—we are supplying essential jet parts to Israel as they carry out a holocaust of Palestinians, starving and burning them to death daily. declassifiedaus.org/2025/07/11/r...
DECLASSIFIED AUSTRALIA REVEALED: AUSTRALIA HAS EXPORTED F-35 FIGHTER JET PARTS DIRECTLY TO ISRAEL Leaked documents reveal that as recently as this week, Australia has sent F-35 strike fighter jet parts directly from Australia to Israel in the midst of Israel's genocidal war in Gaza. by Peter Cronau and Kellie Tranter | 11 Jul,
July 11, 2025 at 11:39 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
Labor’s unelected Anti-Semitism Overlord recently shat out a 20-page document demanding sweeping oversight of pretty much all areas of government to stamp out dissent against her beloved murder colony overseas which is starving kids to death daily. Here’s a snapshot of her sterling analytical powers
Australia's lead advisor on fighting antisemitism has singled out X for successfully using artificial intelligence to "root out hate", just days after the Elon Musk-owned company apologised for its Al chatbot spewing antisemitic comments and calling itself "MechaHitler"
July 11, 2025 at 4:48 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
Here’s some of the things said about my novel.

Whether poetry or prose, I’ve got you covered.
Omar Sakr PRAISE FOR SON OF SIN "Tender, candid, vivid - cut through with a hunger to destroy that which oppresses us." - The Guardian "A darkly comic family saga... (Sakr] is funny and unapologetic, creating epic, stunningly dirty narratives" - The Conversation "Sakr is a talented storyteller witha keen sense of character development." - Australian Book Review "Simultaneously heavy and beautiful." - Books+Publishing "Sakr captures the complexities and darkness of a queer youth in which acceptance is hard-won, if present at all." - Kill Your Darlings "Here we have an Australian bildungsroman of genuine heart, guts and mind, one to add straight to the canon." The Weekend Australian MANUSCRIPT ASSESSMENTS OPEN omar.j.sakr@gmail
July 5, 2025 at 9:47 PM
omarsakr.bsky.social
I could weep. The arts in this country is so broken, and that’s just another reason why certain philanthropists wield outsized influence here. There are so many better models in the world and we should adopt them.
A discussion paper to be issued by the NSW government also looks to Finland, where grants and scholarships awarded by public bodies are entirely tax-exempt when used for artistic purposes. Prize money is generally considered taxable in Finland, but there is an exemption for prizes that recognise artistic merit and do not comprise a payment for services or a commissioned work. In France, artists earning less than $139,000 a year can apply a flat 34 per cent deduction to account for their professional expenses. No receipts or bookkeeping are required. The remaining 66 per cent is taxed as personal income. As of 2020, more than 60,000 French artists were enrolled.
July 5, 2025 at 9:46 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
Here is a fraction of the nice things some poets have said about my work.

You need to elevate your poetry and I need to feed my kids, yullah, let’s get started.
Omar Sakr POETRY ENDORSEMENTS: "Sakr writes ferociously fine poetry so alive it trembles on the page." - Naomi Shihab Nye "Sakr is one of our essential poets." -Kwame Dawes "Only a poet as exceptional as Omar can write our nightmares from within the nightmare." - Najwan Darwish "Sakr adds a new and powerful dimension to the Australian literary landscape." - Alexis Wright "Omar continues to write the most vital poetry of our age." - Andrew McMillan "Sakr renews the lyric mode as a way to contend with the world" - Billy-Ray Belcourt MANUSCRIPT ASSESSMENTS OPEN omar.j.sakr@gmail
July 5, 2025 at 6:08 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
I'm leaving my day job and while I find what's next for me, I'm offering my expertise to help you get your manuscript publication-ready.

I’m an award-winning poet and novelist with books out in Australia, UK, and the US.

I'm also open to workshops and commissions. Get in touch if interested!
Omar Sakr AWARD-WINNING POET | EDITOR | NOVELIST 2019 EDWARD STANLEY AWARD FOR POETRY 2021 WOOLLAHRA LITERARY PRIZE FOR POETRY 2023 BESS HOKIN PRIZE FOR POETRY 2024 COPYRIGHT AGENCY NON-FICTION FELLOWSHIP MANUSCRIPT ASSESSMENTS OPEN omar.j.sakr@gmail
July 5, 2025 at 1:52 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
Huge news. This is a win for the artistic community who collectively rejected this racist censorship from the start and never let up - particularly Khaled’s peers who refused to take up the poisoned pavilion. Solidarity in action.
BREAKING Khaled Sabsabi reinstated as Australia's representative at 2026 Venice Biennale By Hannah Story
July 2, 2025 at 7:20 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
In 2010 there were articles about the Pentagon rating the climate crisis as a strategic threat. The CIA even started a centre to collect information on climate change. www.theguardian.com/world/2010/j...
That suggests climate change is here to stay as a topic of concern for the Pentagon. The Pentagon, in acknowledging the threat of global warming, will now have to factor climate change into war game exercises and long-term security assessments of badly affected regions such as the Arctic, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia. Military planners will have to factor climate change into war game exercises and long-term security assessments of badly affected regions such as the Arctic, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia. "The leadership of the Pentagon has very strongly indicated that they do consider climate change to be a national security issue," said Christine Parthemore, an analyst at the Centre for a New American Security, who has been studying the Pentagon's evolving views on climate change. "They are considering climate change on a par with the political and economic factors as the key drivers that are shaping the world."
June 30, 2025 at 9:44 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
New essay from me: The End of Reality, published by @theshot.net.au thanks to @davemilbo.bsky.social 🙏🏽💜 theshot.net.au/uncategorize...
Two years into the US-Israeli genocide of Palestine, which includes invasions into Lebanon and Syria, the bombing of Yemen, and most recently Iran, it's difficult to summon any kind of language to describe the age of barbarity and horror we've entered. I just watched another video of a screaming Palestinian man holding a headless baby. Earlier, before putting my toddler to sleep for his day nap, I kept seeing the blood-drenched face of a martyred little girl flash over his. Whenever I prepare food, I see again the images of American and Israeli soldiers firing into crowds of starving Palestinians, which are not only images, but recurring daily violences. The killing fields of genocide are brought to us live hourly, and each new atrocity appears worse than the last. What could be worse than firing indiscriminately into a crowd of people you have starved near to death? I ask myself, only to read about tanks firing into the crowds. And then jets. What could be worse than starving babies into the earliest grave? I ask myself, then read about the orphaned toddlers eating sand. Then watching another flaming torso in the rubble, another person made into an inferno, this endless holocaust. With answers like these, I now fear asking the question.
June 24, 2025 at 8:47 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
One of the more confused and grotesque headlines and subheadings l've ever seen. There is no reluctance, anywhere, among human beings demanding an end to Israel's starvation of civilians, kids and babies.
Gaza | Analysis Strikes on Iran ease pressure on Israel to end starvation in Gaza By Emma Graham-Harrison Critics of war will be more reluctant to press for its end while missiles from Tehran are killing people in Tel Aviv
June 14, 2025 at 11:34 PM
omarsakr.bsky.social
Freedom in the genocide
Freedom in the genocide It's cold, the day freedom floats close to the camps. In the bakery, I track the live GPS. Order a babycino For my son, and zaatar manoush. The drones arrive, The attack begins, the camp guards stop the formula From reaching dried mothers and their newborns. They call this theatre, they call it a stunt, those who Turned the blockade of aid into a parade, who cooked Barbeques in the ruins to cruel hunger into madness. I share a screen with my Palestinian brother and we Edit our translated love. Is this word more beautiful Than the last? The world is better in Arabic, of course. Yes, Baba, Mama is coming, please don't interrupt. We are still searching for the weakest sentence When the feed cuts out. How cruel am I to have Had no hope? To have begun at the end, unchanged? Drink your milk. Darling, I'm begging you, drink Your milk, do not waste a drop of this white Fortune. Take another sweet-sour bite, my son. You have no idea. I'm not angry. Just drink. By Omar Sakr
June 9, 2025 at 9:49 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
As we come into the blessed month of PLR/ ELR payments, this is a reminder that you can support authors not just by buying our books but also by borrowing them at your local library or getting them to order a copy if they don't already have it.
Photo of all of my books: These Wild Houses, The Lost Arabs, Non-Essential Work, Son of Sin, and The Nightmare Sequence. Includes the UK cover for Son of Sin (87press) and the US cover of The Lost Arabs (Andrew McMillan)
June 5, 2025 at 12:07 AM
omarsakr.bsky.social
I wrote about the election, and the many false narratives that have permeated, both before and since. Like when Penny Wong justified not sanctioning Israel by saying we only did things with our allies, only for Albanese to this week say, "We follow our own path.” greenagenda.org.au/2025/06/post...
From "We won't apply sanctions because we only do that alongside allies" to "We choose our own path" When pushed on the refusal to sanction Israel for its war crimes, while being happy to sanction Russia for the same, FM Penny Wong said, "When Australia applies sanctions, we coordinate with partners. That's what makes them effective." Yet this week, in response to threats from the UK, France, and Canada to impose sanctions on Israel for its 70-day blockade that is starving over a million people to death, Albanese shrugged off the idea of joining our allies. "We follow our own path, and Australia determines our own foreign policy," he said. It's beyond clear that there is nothing hold Australia back, this has nothing to do with holding a so-called "centrist" position in an election year, it has nothing to do with what our allies are doing, it has nothing to do with the determination that Israel is committing a genocide; there is no doubt, there is no confusion, there is no ambiguity whatsoever-Australia is deliberately, knowingly complicit in this genocide and it is entirely justified that Albanese has been referred to the International Criminal Court as such.
June 2, 2025 at 5:14 AM