F261. Dispatches From the Land of Erasure: Arab American Writers Forum

B115, Oregon Convention Center, Level 1
Friday, March 29, 2019
3:00 pm to 4:15 pm

 

Arab American poets have struggled to make their voices heard over the din of empire, in a culture eager to use them as voiceless props in an imperial drama about America and the globe. Drawing on the Boston Review forum that appeared in May 2018, this panel will address the dynamics of imperial erasure and poetic insistence as resistance, moving the conversation beyond the bounds of Arab American experience and into a broader conversation about intersectionality and empire. 


Participants

Moderator:

Philip Metres is the author of a number of books and chapbooks, including Sand OperaPictures at an ExhibitionA Concordance of Leaves, and To See the Earth. His work has appeared in Best American Poetry, has garnered a Lannan Fellowship, two NEAs, the Hunt Prize, and the Cleveland Arts Prize.

Marwa Helal is a poet and journalist whose work appears in Apogee, Hyperallergic, The Offing, Poets & Writers, The Recluse, Winter Tangerine, and elsewhere. She is the author of Invasive Species and the winner of BOMB Magazine’s Biennial 2016 Poetry Contest.

George Abraham is a Palestinian-American poet, activist and PhD candidate at Harvard. He is the author of two chapbooks: the specimen's apology (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2019) and al youm (The Atlas Review, 2017). His writing has appeared in Tin House, Boston Review, The Rumpus, Puerto del Sol, and Nepantla.

Lena Khalaf Tuffaha's book of poetry, Water and Salt, is published by Red Hen Press. Her chapbook, Arab in Newsland won the 2016 Two Sylvias Press Prize. Her poems have been nominated for the Pushcart, Best of the Net, and the Rita Dove Prize. She holds an MFA from the Rainier Writing Workshop at PLU.

Farid Matuk is the author of This Is a Nice Neighborhood and The Real Horse. Matuk serves on the editorial team at Fence and on the faculty of the MFA program at University of Arizona.

#AWP24

February 7–10, 2024
Kansas City, Missouri

Kansas City Convention Center