SWWIM
Writer · Poet · Teacher · Story Collector
sabina
khan-ibarra
Writing about family, memory, belonging, and what survives across generations.
Keeper
of Stories
Writer · Poet · Teacher · Story Collector
Writing about family, memory, belonging, and what survives across generations.
I am a Pakistani Pashtun American writer, poet, and educator. I grew up listening to stories. Some were told around kitchen tables and at family gatherings. Others lived in silence, carried quietly across generations. Much of my work begins with listening: to family histories, to silences, and to the fragments of memory that shape who we become.
My writing explores memory, family, migration, inheritance, and belonging. I am drawn to the ordinary moments that reveal larger truths about love, loss, identity, and home.
I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University, where I graduated with Distinguished Honors. My work has appeared in literary journals and anthologies, and I have been honored with fellowships, awards, and residencies supporting writers and artists. I am a member of The Writers Grotto and The Authors Guild. Alongside my writing, I teach creative writing through organizations including The Writers Grotto, the San Diego Writers Festival, and Litquake's Elder Project, where I work with older adults to explore memory, story, and lived experience through writing. Whether in classrooms, workshops, or community spaces, I am passionate about helping writers deepen their craft and discover the stories only they can tell.
I believe writing is an act of attention. It asks us to slow down, look closely, and listen deeply to ourselves and to one another. As a writer and teacher, I am less interested in perfect answers than in meaningful questions. The work that moves me most is rooted in curiosity, compassion, and a willingness to remain open to complexity. My goal is to create stories and learning spaces that honor lived experience, encourage risk-taking, and remind us of the power of language to connect, preserve, and transform.
Bibliography
Poetry, flash fiction, and essays exploring memory, migration, and what it means to hold multiple worlds at once.
SWWIM
Anomaly
iO
Rising
Phoenix
Essay · Anthology
Essay in Faithfully Feminist, an anthology of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim feminist voices.
Buy the Book →Fiction · Anthology
Story in Taboos & Transgressions, alongside Kim Addonizio, Joyce Carol Oates, Pam Houston, and others.
Buy the Book →Show Us
Your Papers
FERAL
panoply
The Minison
Project
What My
Mouth Holds
Poetry Collection · Manuscript
The Mountain
Lions
Story Collection · Manuscript
A short story collection — fierce, precise, and alive to the tensions of family, culture, and survival.
The Poppy
Flower
Novel in Progress
A novel rooted in the landscapes, histories, and inherited stories that have always shaped her writing.
Selected essays published in HuffPost.
Ramadan, Prayer and Drawing Maps
HuffPost
Mama's Strength
HuffPost
Picture Perfect
HuffPost
The Case For Social Media and Hashtag Activism
HuffPost
The Paths to My Heart
HuffPost
What Ahmed's Clock Means For this Muslim-American Mother
HuffPost
Selected Work
Poetry · The Rising Phoenix Review
unlock the mouth that holds many truths
first, remove your shoes like this
cover your head, a saadar wrapped around you like this
stand in a line imam's words fill Allah's home like this
say, Alhamdulillahi rabil aalameen. reflect like this
forehead to the floor prostate. connect like this
— Sabina Khan-Ibarra
Read at Rising Phoenix Review →Poetry · SWWIM
the ones I grew up with
those who yelled, camel jockey
terrorist
drape-thief
who doorbell ditched at night
leaving nothing but shouting dads and shivering children
— Sabina Khan-Ibarra
Read at SWWIM →Poetry · FERAL
she sees her mother's sturdy armor only after she bites
into crispy red water, falls
down on spongy breasts full of nourishing nectar
pooling in the lap, full
of regrets disguised as strawberry
juice, too full to mother
and hidden behind the sorrow, she finds
an untouched wedding
dress, a faded flame
— Sabina Khan-Ibarra
Read at FERAL →Poetry · Panoply
On long drives, he slices them open and shares the fruity flesh with his children.
There they find pious Prophets with happy endings and young boys from villages of Pakistan who dreamed in American.
And laughter.
When the pain starts, the driving stops and so do the stories. But they live inside him, I know. Inside the wide chest, where when I put my head down on, and hear the beating of the heart, telling the stories, his tongue no longer tells.
— Sabina Khan-Ibarra
Read at Panoply →On the Road
Selected readings, panels, and literary events. Upcoming events coming soon.
📍 Berkeley, CA
Sabina appears as a featured speaker at the Bay Area Book Festival, one of the largest free literary events in the country.
View Speaker Page →📍 Arc Studios & Gallery · 1246 Folsom St, San Francisco
Part of Litquake 2025, Sabina reads alongside Ashley Kim, Mahru Elahi, Grace Z. Li, and others in this Kearny Street Workshop showcase of AAPI writers.
View Event →📍 Books on the Park · 1231 9th Ave, San Francisco
Sabina hosts debut author Tayyba Kanwal for the launch of Talking with Boys (Black Lawrence Press) — a story collection exploring the Pakistani and Pakistani American experience. Event recorded and available on YouTube.
View Event →📍 Baltimore Convention Center · Baltimore, MD
Sabina appears as a panelist at the 2026 AWP Conference & Bookfair on the panel "Conjuring Home: Women of Color on Exile, Borders & Belonging" — exploring how writers of color navigate questions of home, displacement, and identity in their work.
📍 Telegraph Hill Books · 1501 Grant Ave, San Francisco
Part of the Writers Grotto's Aloud/Out Loud Series — Sabina reads alongside Lauren C. Johnson, Lisa Rosenberg, Eirinie Carson, Arely Miranda González, and Lama Rimawi in an evening of storytelling about transforming rage, grief, and struggle into something transcendent.
View Event →📍 Online via Zoom
Sabina reads as part of Rooted & Written at the Berkeley Poetry Festival — an evening of poems honoring where we come from and questioning where we're headed, hosted by Rowena Leong Singer alongside Angel Bista, Ashia S. Ajani, Kevin Madrigal Galindo, and Zara Jamshed.
View Event →📍 San Francisco Mission District · Litquake 2025
Sabina reads alongside MK Chavez, Preeti Vangani, and Maw Shein Win in this Lit Crawl celebration of poetry, solidarity, and the bonds between women writers.
📍 Location TBD
More events coming soon. To invite Sabina to read or speak, reach out below.
Get in Touch →Recognition
Grateful for the recognition of work that grows from community, memory, and the belief that stories matter.
Semifinalist
California State University, Fresno
Her debut collection What My Mouth Holds was selected as a semifinalist twice — one of the most prestigious prizes for a debut poetry manuscript in the U.S.
Semi-Finalist
University of Wisconsin Press
Her poetry collection was named a semi-finalist.
Shortlisted · 2025
SmokeLong Quarterly
Story Non-Existent shortlisted for one of the most celebrated prizes in flash fiction — judged anonymously by 14 readers across seven countries.
View Shortlist →Honorable Mention
CRAFT Literary
Recognized with an honorable mention by CRAFT, one of the most respected publications dedicated to the art and craft of literary writing.
Visit CRAFT →Fellowship
San Francisco State University
Awarded for the intersection of creative work and community engagement — reflecting Sabina's commitment to writing as a civic and social practice.
Fellowship
MVICW
A prestigious summer fellowship for emerging writers, awarded in recognition of exceptional promise and achievement in literary craft.
MFA with Distinction
San Francisco State University
Graduated with Distinguished Honors from the SFSU MFA program, one of the leading creative writing programs on the West Coast.
Award
San Francisco State University
Awarded at SFSU for outstanding achievement in creative writing, recognizing the breadth and depth of her literary work.
Alum
Voices of Our Nations Arts Foundation
Alumna of VONA/Voices, the premier multi-genre workshop for writers of color in the United States.
Longlist · 2025
Palette Poetry
Longlisted for one of poetry's celebrated prizes for love poems, judged by poet Sun Yung Shin.
Craft & Pedagogy
I teach writing as a practice of attention — to language, to memory, to the self that shows up on the page. All levels welcome.
A deeper dive into structure and form — how the architecture of a poem creates meaning. Students examine how line breaks, white space, and syntax carry emotional weight.
Writers Grotto →A workshop exploring fragmentation, memory, and the architecture of lyric essays and prose poems. How do we write what resists a straight line? How do we return to what we've left behind?
SD Writers Ink →A craft workshop on movement, momentum, and energy in writing. How do you make a poem or story move — propel a reader forward, create urgency, build toward something felt?
Get in Touch →Part of Litquake's beloved Elder Project, these workshops bring the joy and healing of creative writing to older adults — honoring a lifetime of stories that deserve to be told.
Learn More →I work one-on-one with writers at all stages — from first sparks to final revisions. Whether you're writing toward a manuscript, submitting to journals, or simply trying to find your voice, I'd love to work with you. Limited spots available each season.
Inquire About Private SessionsRoots & Roles
The literary organizations and communities Sabina calls home.
Director
A literary reading series celebrating writers of color and the communities they carry.
Instructor & Member
San Francisco's premier independent writing community, supporting writers at every stage.
Instructor
Teaching creative writing to older adults — honoring the stories that have waited longest to be told.
Instructor
A vibrant writing community dedicated to bringing writers and readers together across Southern California.
Former Lecturer
Teaching creative writing in the MFA program where she earned her own degree.
Alum
The only multi-genre workshop in the U.S. for writers of color — a transformative community of craft and solidarity.
Past Participant
The longest-running multidisciplinary arts festival by and for Asian Pacific Americans in the nation.
Talks & Readings
Interviews, readings, and talks — Sabina in conversation about history, poetry, and the power of storytelling.
Reading
Sabina reads her story from Taboos & Transgressions: Stories of Wrongdoings — an anthology she appears in alongside Kim Addonizio, Joyce Carol Oates, and Pam Houston.
Watch on YouTube →Talk · #HistoricMuslimah Ramadan Series
Sabina speaks on Malalai of Maiwand — the legendary Pashtun poet and warrior heroine who led her people into battle and whose legacy lives on in the name Malala Yousafzai.
Watch on YouTube →Bookstore Event · February 2026
Sabina hosts debut author Tayyba Kanwal at Green Apple Books on the Park (9th Ave, San Francisco) for the launch of Talking with Boys (Black Lawrence Press, 2026) — a story collection spanning the Pakistani and Pakistani American experience.
Watch on YouTube →Immersive Writing
Intimate gatherings for writers seeking time, space, and community to deepen their creative practice.
Let's Connect
For readings, workshops, teaching inquiries, or just to say hello — Sabina would love to hear from you.
