Online Book Talk: Muslim American Writers At Home
We're hosting a book talk to celebrate the launch of a new anthology book by North American Muslim writers.
Muslim American Writers At Home features stories, essays and poems from a diverse collection of North American Muslim writers. The book's editors Hanan Hazemi and Valerie Behiery and contributing Canadian writers Baraa Arar, Monia Mazigh and Hanaa Walzer will join us online on May 8 at 2 pm.
Catch them as they talk about some of the themes of the book and reflect on Muslim American identity and experiences.
The event will be streamed on Zoom.
Register Here
Muslim American Writers At Home is now available to purchase online here.
The full list of the book's contributing Canadian writers is below
Contributing Canadian writers
Aquil Virani - Ottawa, ON
@studentAsim - Mississauga, ON
Baraa Arar - Ottawa, ON
Ghadeer Elghafri - North York, ON
Hanan Hazime, ed. - Toronto, ON
Monia Mazigh - Ottawa, ON
Shamima Khan - Nepean, ON
Zainab Fatima Mirza - Markham, ON
Hanaa Walzer - Halifax, NS
About Valerie Behiery
Valerie Behiery, PhD, is a Canadian artist, writer, and academic whose life has been devoted to the arts, both their making and study. Committed to healing social divisions and bringing visibility to underrepresented artists, her writing has been published in peer-reviewed journals, reference works, art catalogues, and freelance publications like Visual Arts News, Tribe, Nafas, or esse. A global nomad, Valerie has taught at universities in Canada, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia. More than convinced of the power of the expressive arts to encourage positive social change, she initiated the Muslim Writers at Home project. She has currently finishing a Post-Masters diploma in art therapy; having experienced the profound therapeutic effects of writing and artmaking, she seeks to help others do the same.
About Monia Mazigh
Dr. Monia Mazigh is a Canadian author and academic born and raised in Tunisia. She speaks Arabic, French, and English fluently and holds a Ph.D. in finance from McGill University. Dr. Mazigh has worked at the University of Ottawa and taught Finance at Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops, British Columbia.
Dr. Monia Mazigh was catapulted onto the public stage in 2002 when her husband Maher Arar, was deported to Syria where he was tortured and held without charge for over a year. During that time, she campaigned vigorously for her husband’s release and later fought to re-establish his reputation and sought reparations. In January 2007, after a lengthy inquiry, her husband finally received an apology from the Canadian.
Dr. Monia Mazigh has authored a book called Hope and Despair which documents her ordeal after her husband was arrested and how she campaigned to clear his name. It was published in 2008.
In 2011, Dr. Monia Mazigh published a novel in French, Miroirs et mirages. Stories of four Muslim women living in Canada. Miroirs et mirages was shortlisted for the prestigious Ontario Trillium award, for the Ottawa Book Award and for the Book Award of the Salon du Livre de Toronto. In 2014, Mirrors and mirages was published in English by Anansi House.
Dr. Monia Mazigh wrote a second novel about the events of the Arab Spring. Hope has Two Daughters has been published in English in 2017 by Anansi House.
Her fourth book, Farida, was published in 2020 by Les éditions David.
Dr. Monia Mazigh taught from 2014 at the Learning in Retirement Program at Carleton University. She is a columnist with rabble.ca. She is a regular contributor to Radio-Canada. She is currently writing an essay about “Gendered Islamophobia” expected to be published in 2022.
About Hanaa Walzer
Born in a Swiss/Mi’kmaq Protestant/Catholic family in Atlantic Canada, raised in the south of Switzerland, living on a Mi’kmaq Reserve, in small and large Canadian cities, embracing Islam, living in Libya before, during and after the Revolution, and ultimately returning to my countries of origin, I’ve gone through many shifts in perspective. My academic background is in Spanish and Latin American literatures and cultures, which add yet another dimension that inform my existence. As a woman, a mother, wife, daughter, sister, and friend of people across cultures, and a lover of all sorts of arts I have had to re-evaluate my stance numerous times. I have published in academic and leisure magazines, have worked for many years as an educator and currently I'm a freelance editor (www.hanaasediting.blogspot.com) and writer. I also have a blog, where I muse about all sorts of issues of interest to me. www.cafecaterpillar.blog
Here is a picture of Hanaa’s favorite painting that she made a few years ago.
About Barâa Arar
Barâa Arar is a Toronto-based community organizer, writer, and editor. She holds a Bachelor of Humanities from Carleton University and a Master’s in History from the University of Toronto. Her writing has appeared in This Magazine, Canthius, and CBC, among other Canadian and international publications. Currently, she works for a federal government department, advising on matters of equity, diversity and inclusion. Barâa is an editorial committee member of Between the Lines, an independent Canadian press and is the recipient of the Carleton Provost Scholar Award for community engagement and immersive research.
About Hanan Hazime
Hanan Hazime is a multidisciplinary artist, creative writer, and arts educator living in Toronto. She also identifies as a Lebanese-Canadian Shi’a Muslimah Feminist and Mad Pride Activist. She has a Master of Arts degree in English Literature and Creative Writing from the University of Windsor. When not writing or creating art, Hanan enjoys reading fantasy and science fiction novels, overanalyzing things, photo-blogging, dancing with faeries in the woods, and drinking copious amounts of tea