Arab
Women Poets Page
Arab Women Poets Elmaz Abinader, Dima Hilal, Deema Shehabi and Nathalie Handal gave readings at Beyond Baroque on Nov. 30, 2001 at 7:30 and 9:00 pm.
The evening was organized by Jordan Elgrably of Levantine Cultural Center and cosponsored by/held at Beyond Baroque Literary/Arts Center. Al Jadid Magazine of Arab arts and cultures cosponsored the evening, which was introduced by Judith Gabriel speaking on Arab literature, poetry and the work of Al Jadid magazine in bringing both disciplines to the attention of the American public. Nathalie Handal, editor of the anthology The Poetry of Arab Women (Interlink Books, 2001), introduced each poet. Afterward poets, organizers and sponsors gathered at the Mediterranean Café on Venice Blvd to talk further about poetry and the Middle East.
Elmaz Abi-Nader is an Arab American author, poet and performance artist whose work has been printed and performed throughout the States and the Middle East. Her most recent volume, In the Country of My Dreams... won the Josephine Miles PEN Oakland award for multi-cultural poetry. Her first play, Country of Origin won two Drammies from Oregon's Drama Circle and she is touring with her second performance, Ramadan Moon. Children of the Roojme: A Family's Journey from Lebanon, her first book, is a widely acclaimed memoir of one family's immigration. Abinader has served as a senior Fulbright Scholar to Egypt and currently teaches at Mills College. Visit Elmaz's web page.
Deema K. Shehabi is a Palestinian poet. Her poetry has appeared in anthologies and literary journals, including the Atlanta Review. She recently worked as a managing editor for a quarterly magazine in Northern California and currently lives inthe San Francisco Bay Area.
Dima Hilal was born in Beirut, Lebanon.
She obtained her undergraduate degree in English with a focus on writing and poetry at the University of California, Berkeley. Her work has appeared in various literary journals and anthologies, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Mizna and The Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology. She has taught poetry in numerous workshops, guest lectured at UC Berkeley and participated in numerous readings, including an appearance on NPR¹s radio program, Flashpoints, and a reading for Levantine Center/Beyond Baroque on KXLU with host Christine Dromo's show, "Echo in the Sense." Hilal currently lives in Laguna Beach, California. Visit her web site.
Nathalie Handal was born on July 29, 1969. She has lived in the United States, Europe, the Caribbean, and has traveled extensively in the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Poet, writer, and literary researcher, she is presently living between New York and London, where she is a researcher in the English and Drama Department, University of London, and a Chair at the Pushkin Club (Russian Literary Centre). Her work has appeared in numerous magazines, literary journals and anthologies in United States, Europe and the Arab world. Handal has read/performed poetry widely, and has given lectures on Ethnic-American literature at the Sorbonne, Yarmouk University, University of Jordan, University of London and numerous other universities and conferences worldwide. Her book of poetry, The Never Field was published by The Post-Apollo Press, California; and Traveling Rooms, a CD of her poetry and improvisational music by Russian musicians, Vladimir Miller and Alexandr Alexandrov, was produced in the United Kingdom, and released summer 1999. She is the editor of The Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology (Interlink, New York, 2000). Visit Nathalie's web site.
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LEVANTINE CULTURAL CENTER
Cultures of the Middle East & Mediterranean 2002
8424A Santa Monica Blvd., N.789, West Hollywood CA 90069
323.650.7010, info@levantinecenter.org
Levantine Cultural Center advocates for, educates about, and in general promotes and supports Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cultures and arts. The Center exists to promote music, literature, art, film/video, new media and history through advocacy, education, scholarship and entertainment. We are strongly committed to the principle of cross-cultural cooperation, and support the strengthening of ties between all cultural, ethnic and religious communities of the Middle East as well as between all peoples of Middle Eastern descent.
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