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BOOKS
The
Time Between Places: Stories That Weave In and Out of Egypt and America
University
of Arkansas Press, 2010
This
collection of twenty stories delves into the lives of Egyptian characters, from
those living in Egypt to those who have immigrated to the United States. With
subtle and eloquent prose, the complexities of these characters are revealed,
opening a door into their intimate struggles with identity and place.
We meet people who are tempted by the possibilities of America and others who are tempted by the desire to return home. Some are in the throes of re-creating themselves in the new world while others seem to be embedded in the loss of their homeland. Many of these characters, although physically located in either the United States or Egypt, have lives that embrace both cultures.
We meet people who are tempted by the possibilities of America and others who are tempted by the desire to return home. Some are in the throes of re-creating themselves in the new world while others seem to be embedded in the loss of their homeland. Many of these characters, although physically located in either the United States or Egypt, have lives that embrace both cultures.
Letters from Cairo
Syracuse University
Press, 2007
When her husband is
offered a six-month Fulbright grant to teach American literature at Cairo
University, Pauline Kaldas embarks on a new journey—and an opportunity to
return home. Born in Egypt, she immigrated with her parents to the United
States when she was eight years old. Returning now with her own children,
Kaldas writes from a perspective as an Arab American, straddling two homelands
and two identities. Through a collection of letters, journal entries, essays,
and even local recipes, she provides a richly detailed portrait of life in
Cairo, recording daily revelations and eventually reconciling past and present.
With keen observation and deeply personal reflections, the author presents a
thoughtful meditation on the meaning of place, family, and origin.
Kaldas offers insight into the complexities of Egyptian culture, alternately taking on roles of linguist and cultural interpreter and addressing everything from class issues and political activism to education and the impact of Western culture. But it is her moving, often entertaining letters and her children’s emails and poems that will charm readers and resonate with devotees of travel narratives and multicultural literature. This book captures the images, character, and passion of an extraordinary country. Marked by spare, graceful prose, drawing on observations and friendships past and present, Kaldas offers a unique lens for observing Middle Eastern societies.
Kaldas offers insight into the complexities of Egyptian culture, alternately taking on roles of linguist and cultural interpreter and addressing everything from class issues and political activism to education and the impact of Western culture. But it is her moving, often entertaining letters and her children’s emails and poems that will charm readers and resonate with devotees of travel narratives and multicultural literature. This book captures the images, character, and passion of an extraordinary country. Marked by spare, graceful prose, drawing on observations and friendships past and present, Kaldas offers a unique lens for observing Middle Eastern societies.
Egyptian Compass
Custom Words, an imprint of WordTech Communications, 2006
"The world map/colored yellow and green/draws a straight
line from Boston to Cairo," observes Pauline Kaldas in her rich collection
Egyptian Compass. And so these poems navigate seamlessly between two
worlds, the West and the Middle East, linking memory and the perspective of the
now through a chorus of Egyptian and American voices.
Dinarzad’s Children: An Anthology
of Contemporary Arab American Fiction, 2nd ed.
Edited by Pauline Kaldas and Khaled
Mattawa, University of Arkansas Press, 2009
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 fifteen 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.
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.