Palestinian American Writing in a Time of Genocide
Monday, Mar 31, 2025 | 12:00 PM EDT | In-Person Event | Intercultural Center, Room 241 (Center for Contemporary Arabic Studies)
Hosted by Center for Contemporary Arab Studies , African Studies Program , Gender+ Justice Initiative , Dept. of English , Alwaleed Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding , Dept. of Arabic and Islamic Studies , Dept. of Religion and Theology , and Georgetown University Qatar
Poet Zeina Azzam and novelist Susan Muaddi Darraj will read from their work, followed by a discussion exploring themes in Palestinian American literature, including displacement, resistance, gender, and the craft of writing poetry and prose. Moderated by Mimi Kirk, Associate Director for the Center for Contemporary Arab Studies. Lunch will be provided.
About the speakers:
Zeina Azzam is a Palestinian American poet, writer, editor, and community activist. She was selected as the Poet Laureate of the City of Alexandria, Virginia, in April 2022 and serves in this position through April 2025. Her poems are published widely in literary journals and anthologies and her full-length poetry collection, Some Things Never Leave You, was released in 2023 by Tiger Bark Press. Zeina’s chapbook, Bayna Bayna, In-Between, was published in 2021 by The Poetry Box, which nominated one of her poems for the Pushcart Prize. In 2022, The KNOT Magazine nominated another of her poems for a Pushcart. Zeina volunteers as a mentor for We Are Not Numbers, a writing program for youth in Gaza, and is currently the poetry editor of WANN. She holds an M.A. in Arabic literature from Georgetown. www.zeinaazzam.com
Susan Muaddi Darraj is an award-winning writer of books for adults and children. She won an American Book Award, two Arab American Book Awards, and a Maryland State Arts Council Independent Artists Award. In 2018, she was named a USA Artists Ford Fellow. Her books include her linked short story collection, A Curious Land, as well as the Farah Rocks children’s book series. She lives in Baltimore, where she teaches creative writing at Harford Community College and the Johns Hopkins University. Her new novel, BEHIND YOU IS THE SEA, was published in January 2024 by HarperVia. It received praise from The New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and Ms Magazine, and it was named a Best Book of 2024 by The New Yorker andApple Books. Behind You Is the Sea was also longlisted for the 2025 PEN/Faulkner Award.
Free and open to all.