Author Susan Abulhawa, to host the second special Virtual Majlis writing workshop
We are thrilled to announce that the author of international bestseller 'Mornings in Jenin' will be visiting us on Tuesday March 27th.
Following the success of Selma Dabbagh's attendance at one of our weekly 'Virtual Majlis' last month, the students can't wait to learn about Susan's methods, and the inspiration behind her writing.
The workshop will begin with particular focus on 'Mornings in Jenin', her first novel, published in hardback in February 2010.
Susan currently lives in Pennsylvania, America, with her daughter, and is of Palestinian descent. She will be travelling to Doha to join our Qatar-based team for the video conference with Gaza students, Virtual Majlis.
Susan's parents were refugees of the 1967 war which ensued following Israel's capture of the remains of Palestine, including Jerusalem.
'Mornings in Jenin' was initially called 'the Scar of David' but the title was changed when the book was translated into other languages. This name change is sure to be an interesting topic to cover in the workshop...
The Al Fakhoora students will be familiar with the Palestinian village of Ein Hod, where the novel is based. Critics refer to the typically 'ornamental' style of modern Arabic writing; finding out more about her responses to this, will be interesting!
The sensitivities surrounding the themes and the historical and factual representations in the book have led to issues of security for Susan in the past. The promotion of her book was limited to a book signing in a New York bookstore due to security concerns. What must it be like for a writer to contend with these sorts of issues?
Through the characters of Susan's book, family loyalty and political persuasion is followed closely, and will no doubt spark interest and reaction from our students.
We look forward to the feedback on this experience from Susan and the students!
Photography by Richard Alexander
