The first edition of Dinarzad’s Children was a groundbreaking and popular anthology that brought to light the growing body of short fiction being written by Arab Americans. This expanded edition includes sixteen new stories —thirty in all—and new voices and is now organized into sections that invite readers to enter the stories from a variety of directions. Here are stories that reveal the initial adjustments of immigrants, the challenges of forming relationships, the political nuances of being Arab American, the vision directed towards homeland, and the ongoing search for balance and identity.
The contributors are D. H. Melhem, Mohja Khaf, Rabih Alameddine, Rawi Hage, Laila Halaby, Patricia Sarrafian Ward, Alia Yunis, Diana Abu Jaber, Susan Muaddi Darraj, Samia Serageldin, Alia Yunis, Joseph Geha, May Monsoor Munn, Frances Khirallah Nobel, Nabeel Abraham, Yussef El Guindi, Hedy Habra, Randa Jarrar, Zahie El Kouri, Amal Masri, Sahar Mustafah, Evelyn Shakir, David Williams, Pauline Kaldas, and Khaled Mattawa.
Pauline Kaldas is assistant professor of English and creative writing at Hollins University. She was born in Egypt and immigrated to the United States in 1969. She is the author of Letters from Cairo and Egyptian Compass.
Khaled Mattawa, a 2014 MacArthur fellow, is associate professor Department of English Language and Literature at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He was born in Libya and immigrated to the United States in 1979. He is the author of four books of poetry and a number of translations of contemporary Arab poetry. His work has won two Pushcart Prizes, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and awards from the Academy of American Poets, PEN, and NEA.
“A moving and important anthology. . . . An invaluable resource and a solid compendium. . . . Highly recommended.”
—Library Journal, Starred Review
“A timely and moving collection . . . [that] underlines the similarities between recent immigrants and their American neighbors, thus emphasizing all that we have in common beneath the veneer of culture.”
—Booklist
“Admirable in their own right, these stories are also ‘testaments to the humanity of a heterogeneous and complex group of people’ whose work deserves both recognition and celebration.”
—MELUS
Silver Award (Anthologies), ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year Awards
Adopted at: Youngstown State University
Course: ENGL 2618 American Literature and Diversity
Course Description: Writers and works in relation to the diversity of American culture, politics, lifestyles, and social movements.
Professor: Jackie Mercer
Term: Spring 2020
Adopted at: University of Minnesota
Course: ENGL 1401W Introduction to World Literatures in English
Course Description: Writing-intensive course introducing texts from geographical locations such as Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean with the aim of examining the impact that colonialism has had on previously colonized nations, as well as the world as a whole. Through close readings of these texts, examines questions related to concepts such as ‘third world,’ nationalism, difference, representation, and displacement.
Professor: Nabil Matar
Term: Spring 2020
Adopted at: Temple University
Course: ENG 2000 Special Topics: Arab America Literature
Course Description: Explores a carefully defined theme, topic, or type of literature or writing.
Professor: Rimun Murad
Term: Spring 2019
