In Conversation
Palestinian architect and author Suad Amiry and Palestinian-American writer and human rights activist Susan Abulhawa discussed their newly published books within a broader conversation around contemporary Palestinian literature.
Suad Amiry is an author and also an architect living in the West Bank city of Ramallah. She studied architecture at the American University of Beirut, the University of Michigan, and the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. Her parents went from Palestine to Amman, Jordan. When she returned to Ramallah as a tourist in 1981, she met Salim Tamari, whom she married later, and stayed. Her book Sharon and My Mother-in-Law has been translated into 19 languages, which was a bestseller in France, and was awarded in 2004 the prestigious Viareggio Prize in Italy. She is Director and founder of the Riwaq Centre for Architectural Conservation, the center was founded in 1991; the first of its kind to work on the rehabilitation and protection of architectural heritage in Palestine.
Susan Abulahawa was born to Palestinian refugees from Jerusalem, where her family had lived for centuries. Susan is a human rights activist currently living in Pennsylvania, USA, with her daughter. She is a frequent political commentator and she is the founder of Playgrounds for Palestine, a children's organization dedicated to upholding the Right to Play for Palestinian children living under Israeli military occupation in Palestine and in refugee camps elsewhere.
Cosponsors
Columbia Journalism School
Free and open to the public.
Moderated by Rashid Khalidi, Edward Said Professor of Modern Arab Studies, History Department Chair, and Co-Director of the Center for Palestine Studies.