Tag: POC writers

Palestinian book recommendations: fiction

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Hello all.

I wanted to share some fictional books written by Palestianian authors. I won’t spend time talking about all the horror that is happening in Gaza right now because I want to shine a light on the gorgeous words that have come from the people of Gaza.

There are NO spoilers below, but I urge you to read as many of these as you can. The prose is lyrical, beautiful and heartbreaking.

Mornings in Jenin

Starting off with a gut-wrenghing novel. Amal is born into the refugee camp of Jenin after her family was forced to flee Palestine in 1948. But here’s the kicker – her brother, a baby at the time, is stolen away by an Israeli soldier.

The vivid imagery that runs through this really immersed the reader and keeps you engaged and hooked until the very end. She really does get across feelings of hopelessness and grief, which can make it difficult to read, but it’s so necessary.

Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa

Against The Loveless World

Another by Susan Abulhawa – I really do enjoy reading her work!

This novel. Where do I even begin? Following a young Palestinian refugee, Nahr, we listen to her story, which is being told from solitary confinement, as she becomes more and more radicalised.

Abulhawa blends fact with fiction and it haunts me to this day. It’s a book I think about every couple of days to be honest. The rawness of the prose, the gritty nature of what it means to be a women who is dealt a hand and has to make do in a world that is not meant for her at all.

Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa

The Sea Cloak & Other Stories

A collection of short stories from Nayrouz that are drawn from her experience of growing up in Gaza. This is a short book, only 100 pages, with 11 stories.

Quick snippets and insights into a range of different characters and a real focus on what it is like to live in Gaza – forcing the reader to envision life there. Short stories are always so much hard hitting I find, because of their length. The message hits harder, the words are more scathing and the prose is more sharp.

I think my favourite short story from the collection was ‘Pen and Notebook’, but they were all gorgeous.

If you are a fan of Susan Abulhawa, then I think you’d really enjoy this!

The Sea Cloak by Nayrouz Qarmout

Minor Detail

Don’t be fooled by the length. Whilst this is very small, 112 pages, it packs a massive punch in feels. I was gifted this by a friend last year and it has stayed with me ever since. If you can’t commit to something longer, this is a great, but impactful, one to start with.

Shibli intertwines the modern with the past. A Palestinian writer risks her life to find out more information about a young Palestinain girl who is raped, killed and buried by Israeli soldiers in 1948.

The story is hauntingly beautiful. The title encapsulates life – how one minor detail can strike any one of us and change our entire trajectory in life. Shibli’s narrative is sharp and gets to the point – there is no hiding.

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli

Returning to Haifa

Another short read and a play! I have to read the novella, but the play packs a punch. I read this and feeling more and more deflated and desolate as I got towards the end because I knew how it was going to end, but that didn’t take away from the story.

Two families – one Palestinian, one Israeli – are forced to live out their stories side by side. Starting in 1948, after the Nakba, the plot travels through to 1967, the Six days war, where Said and Saffiya dare to travel back to their home in Haifa and the memories that dome with it.

Returning to Haifa by Ismail Khalidi and Naomi Wallace

A Woman Is No Man

Set in America, Rum tells the stories of three generations of one family of Palestinian American women and their struggle to find their place in this world, in this society and within their own culture. We go through their struggles, desires and shameful family secrets that threaten to tear apart the whole family through the three women – Deya, Isra and Fareeda.

The women, and men, in the novel adhere to and break stereotypes that are forced upon them, and so many others around the world.

A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum

I can never do these stories justice. They’re meant to be read. Meant to be cried over. Meant to stir anger and passion.

All of these books were 5 stars for me. They were achingly, heartbreakingly beautiful reads. The imagery, the pain that is at the heart of each story, connecting it. They were all sublime.

Happy reading!

🇵🇸🤍🍉

xo

I feel sick.

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I’m currently in my 10th week of lockdown, and to be honest quarantine life hasn’t really made me want to write about anything.

But yesterday, another innocent black man was murdered in America by the police. This is the third black person to have their life cruelly taken away from them in the space of a few months because of police brutality.

Because of inherent racism in a country that calls itself openly ‘the land of the free.’

Because of a systematic and biased system that is supposed to be there for the people, not just a small selection of people they deem worthy of their protection.

It is disgusting and sickening for me to see this. And I’m tired. Tired of seeing black people mercilessly black listed, oppressed and denied their human rights. How many more innocent lives will be claimed and taken before they should be? How many more families will lose loved ones? How many more children will be scared to step outside of their own homes?

Staying silent, knowing that what is happening is wrong, is just as complicit as doing nothing. We need to use of platforms to show solidarity, to show our support and to make noise loud enough the world over to show that we will not stand for these injustices. I am reminded of this poem from 1946 as I type this out and I would urge you all to read it.

Just because you are not black does not mean that you cannot empathise with their plight. You can make yourself an ally and show your support:

  • Educate yourself – don’t just take what you read and watch on TV and social media as fact. Research it for yourself.
  • Ask someone – if you don’t feel like you know enough, or you need help understanding or clarification don’t be afraid to ask.
  • Promise to listen – give people a platform and your ear. Listen to their grievances.
  • Step in – if you see racial injustice, no matter how uncomfortable you may feel, step in and help.

For too long we have sat back and watched as people from different races and backgrounds have been persecuted and killed, made to feel worthless and scared of living in the countries they’re born in and done nothing. We need to do more and we need to do it now. The time for change is here.

I am here and I am an ally. I will stand up for you and I will not back down from your fight.

George Floyd. Breonna Taylor. Ahmaud Arbery.

Say their names✊🏽

xo

I didn’t know I was a feminist until…

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I’d like to think that I was always a feminist, or that I’m able to pinpoint the exact epiphinising moment that I realised “I am a feminist,” but the truth is I can’t. It’s a feeling and a power that’s grown within me over the years, be it through my expansion of reading different genres and authors, meeting amazing women and men, and having been surrounded from a very early age by independent and strong women, but also men in touch with their emotions. I’ve always known and felt what I believe to be right in my core when witnessing injustice, but I was never able to put a label on it. I didn’t even know the term feminism existed until I was in my early teens and I came accross the term whilst researching Emmeline Pankhurst for a school project. Ridiculous I know. Or is it? Are we taught enough about the movement or it’s meanings enough when at school? I don’t think so. For something that is so fundamental and integral to society, it needs to be. Maybe this is part of the reason I want to become a teacher – to educate and provide young people of the future with all the knowledge they need to make up their own minds. Or maybe it’s just to push the feminist agenda 😉

God. The femenist agenda. There’s still the ‘bra burning, man hating’ stigma attached to the term that even as we go in 2019 many people hear the term and immediately turn away from the conversation, refusing to partake or even listen. Or they scoff, ‘pssh feminism. What do you even need that for any more? You can do what you want and vote right? Don’t you have everything you wanted, what more do you women want?” Weeeelll…actually no. I mean it’s great that I can vote and own property and have control of my own body, cheers guys, but there is still so much we need to achieve.

What even is feminism? I’ve spoken about it and the term has probably been mentioned thousands of times this year alone, but what is it exactly?

FEMINISM (noun)

fem•i•nism

– The political, economic, and social equality of the sexes.

Does that sound horrifying? Totalitarian? Matricarchal over rule? Women wanting out to stamp out men? Nope. Sounds pretty normal right. Equality. What a profound idea and notion. And for different people and socities it means different thing. Women want to be awarded the exact same opportunities and accolades as their male counterparts, to not be boxed in to an ideal, to be shunned or laughed at or not taken seriously. For girls all around the world to have an education, to end child marriages, sex slavery. To allow every single woman and girl on this planet the chance to fulfil their potential. How can we affect change and make a difference when millions around the world are unable to partake?

When you haven’t, and are not, seeing yourself represented in the world around you, it has repercussions. It serves to keep us down and dampen our strength and resolve, and in turn our ambition and potential. I say this as a woman and British born Pakistani woman. The entwining of my two cultures, both of which I adore, is a difficult one. The ideals of what a women should do and how they should behave are paramount to society within each, and at the core are the same. Women are lauded and demonised for their sexuality, openness and for speaking their mind.

And before anyone says but what about men? I thought you said it was about equality for both! 100% yes. Men and boys need to partake in the conversation as well. It’s not just women who are boxed into societal gender stereotypes. It’s time to break the glass ceiling on men being unable to get in touch with their emotions, for men to be viewed differently if they decided to be a stay at home parent, for boys to express themselves with makeup or the clothing they decide to wear. We as a society, and a world, can only move forwards if we all partake in the conversation. Smash that ceiling and smash it to millions of teeny tiny pieces.

I didn’t know I was a feminist until I decided I was, but you better believe that I’m not stopping or slowing down for anyone.

xo

HAM-IL-TON

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Hello everyone😊

I went to see the child birthed and concocted from Lin Manuel’s amazing and genius brain and it was UH-MAZING!

Hamilton!

For those who don’t know the story about Alexander Hamilton or the musical (where have you been?!) you can check out Ron Chernow’s book that inspired Lin Manuel to write a play about one of America’s founding fathers, turning it into a cultural phenomenon. If that’s not your thing, Hamilton follows the dramatic life of America’s first Treasury Secretary from the his childood, the American Civil War, to his marriage, his rise to political power, all leading to his untimely death, all set to the rhythm and beat of hip-hop.

Hamilton was everything that I knew it would be and so much more. From the staging to the casting to the lyrics and music, everything about the show was sublime. For a musical set in 1700’s and early 1800’s, the themes that run throughout – from immigrants to politics to family – still resonate deeply within the society that we live in especially in the current political climate.

Having the play set against the backdrop of vibrant and relatable music provides an originality that is spawning hundreds of imitations. It is not just a story about one man’s rise and fall, it’s more than that. It represents that this man, Alexander Hamilton, and everyone in his story can and could be anyone, which is seen through the casting choices. Born a bastard and being an immigrant, Hamilton refused to let this hinder the route he was adamant to taking in life. His ambition was ultimately his downfall, but his passion and hunger is something we should all embody.

Our stories and routes in life are not limited to race and creed. This can be any person’s story if we’re willing to put in the hard work and go the extra mile we can achieve the world.

If you can manage to grab tickets make sure you go and watch it. If not, download the soundtrack. I promise you, it will change you.

“My name is Alexander Hamilton and there’s a million things I havent done, but just you wait.”

xo

All kinds of cliches

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Hello☺

So nearly 2 months on from this blog post, have I managed to change things? Well…yes and no. So far I have:

  1. Utilised my time more effectively in the mornings on my commute into work by reading more🎉
  2. Taken a notebook around with me everywhere as well so that I can jot down all my ideas and thoughts. I’m actually loving this one! Just writing down my ramblings on paper made me realise how much I miss the simple act of putting pen to paper.

Aaaaand that’s pretty much it🙈 Although 2/5 from my list isn’t too bad I guess. I’m still a little annoyed that I haven’t been able to implement the others, or even get a start on them. Work has been super hectic this month and I’m really hoping after this week everything dies down a heck of a lot so I can invest more time into my writing and reading even more.

I did come across the below quote by Stephen King recently that really made me snap back into focus and realise what it is I’m passionate about. Writing has always been something I’ve never been 100% comfortable with. I mean don’t get me wrong, I can write a damn good essay, but that’s pretty much it. Facts, opinions and a strong solid subject. But writing for myself has always alluded me because I think I’m just not good enough. That my writing won’t be as inviting or intriguing as some of the amazing work I’ve read by my favourite authors, or my peers. But it’s this kind of thinking that’s held me back, and probably holds a lot of people back. Doing something (whatever it may be) for the sake of others, whomever they may be, won’t allow you to reach your full potential. Do whatever makes you happy for you. After all, you’re going to be the one investing your time and emotion, no-one else. It needs to make you happy.

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” ― Stephen King

As a lover and student of literature, I know it’s been buried deep within me to write a novel or something one day, even if it’s just for myself and no-one else. I would love to devote more time to it if I can. Hopefully this blog will inspire me to keep on going.

xo

Where are all the non-white, non-male authors?

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Hello 🙂

With an undergraduate degree and an (almost) masters in English, it’s safe to say I’ve read a looot of literature. But the funny, and ridiculously laughable thing is, it wasn’t until I was in my 3rd year of doing my BA that I was hit with the sudden startlingly clear realisation of oh shit, the literary world isn’t just restricted to straight white male western European authors. 

My day of enlightenment happened when I had to find an author and one of their plays, for one of my modules, and argue why they should be included in the syllabus. While I was researching that’s when I noticed it. A crippling lack of novelists, poets, playwrights that weren’t white or straight or male or European (or American for that fact). My happy little literature bubble had burst 😦

I mean, I was obviously aware of the fact that the literary world didn’t become wispy vapours disappearing into the night once you left Europe, but in my mind it diminished severely in quantity, and if there was other literature out there, it was *gulp* primitive in quality. As a British born Pakistani you’d have thought I would’ve been more aware of my literary heritage right? Nope. Right from primary school up until university I had been kept in this strict sphere of straight white, British, Irish, American male authors (with the odd female or coloured writer thrown in to ‘keep the balance’). I remember this intense rage of you lied to me! sitting there in the library surrounded by said authors.    

The removal of so many types of authors, playwrights, poets, novelists from women, to people of colour, to transgender, those of different cultures, to LGBTQ, (the list goes on and on), is a failure and tragedy of the literary world. We are better with them than we are without, and we need to make a conscious effort not to exclude but to include. As a society we will be richer for it. It’s a reason why I seriously believe so many people are disillusioned with literature. If you only provide one style of writing or model of what an author ‘should be,’ how can you expect to appeal to those who don’t conform to those so-called norms?

So please get out there and discover different authors and literature, or write your own! I promise you, you will find something to fall in love with.

xo