Closing Out the Year Strong!

In 2022, I had some awesome accomplishments! Even though life was very busy, I wrote several new poems, sent in several submissions for publication and continued studying Palestinian Tatreez (Indigenous Arab embroidery). 

The AWP literary conference (www.awpwriter.org) was held in March and I attended virtually. I was a presenter on the panel  “n/evergreen: Arab/Indigenous Ecopoesis & Environmental Literatures.”

President Biden signed into law that… April is now Arab American Heritage Month. I cried when I read the news. This is such a wonderful achievement that so many people worked hard to make a reality. For the first Arab American Heritage Month media campaign, the Radius of Arab American Writers, Inc. (www.rawiwriter.org) included one of my writing prompts in their promotions… what an honor.

 I enjoyed the Adabiyat Book Club and reading! I read many books this year. I joined the Shahrazad Squad; a group of creatives coming together to share stories, diasporic experiences, grow creative connections and empower activism. I look forward to doing more with them in the future.

In December, I attended the virtual global Outright Summit put on by Outright International, an organization advocating for human and civil rights for the international LGBTIQ community. What a hard-working organization. We heard from very courageous activists, from all over the globe, that are advocating for human rights and facing down violence to do so. Some of the presentations are available on the Outright International YouTube Channel. I highly recommend checking that out.

Throughout the year, I have been working on several projects and also have some literary work pending publication in 2023.

Thanks for checking out my blog. I hope you have a great rest of the year.  

Performance Update for AWP Conference 2022

Going to AWP? Check out our awesome panel with great discussion and literary readings. Title of the event is “N/evergreen: Arab/Indigenous Ecopoesis & Environmental Literatures” and it is happening at 10:35 AM EDT on Friday, March 25th. Virtual Panel. Live in the chat. I am honored to be included with such talented artists/writers: Amir Rabiyah, Ahimsa Timoteo Bodhrán, feras hilal, and Janine Mogannam.

Description of program: Pluralizing and problematizing simplistic notions of land/sky/water, womanist and queer/trans Palestinian and mixed-race Arab/Indigenous poets, non/fiction writers, performers, and editors examine the ways space and place shape and guide our work. Surfacing stories grounded in geohistory, this panel will discuss the connections between Nations and narration, bodies (of work) and the lands and waters from which they emerge, and decolonizing dialogues of ecopoetic and environmental literatures.




So excited for this panel and discussion. Come join us for an awesome session!