In this Book
- Talking through the Door: An Anthology of Contemporary Middle Eastern American Writing
- Book
- 2014
- Published by: Syracuse University Press
- Series: Arab American Writing
The writers included here are descendants of multiple cultural heritages and reflect the perspectives of various ethnic and cultural backgrounds: Egyptian, Iranian, Iraqi, Jordanian, Lebanese, Libyan, Palestinian, Syrian. They are from diverse socioeconomic classes and spiritual sensibilities: Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and atheist, among others. Yet, they coexist in this volume simply as American voices.
Atefat-Peckham gathered poetry and prose from sixteen accomplished writers whose works concern a variety of themes: from the familial cross-cultural misunderstandings and conflicts in the works of Iranian American writers Nahid Rachlin and Roger Sedarat to the mysticism of Khaled Mattawa’s poems; from the superstitions that govern characters in Diana Abu-Jaber’s prose to the devastating homesickness of Pauline Kaldas’s characters. Filled with emotion and keen observations, this collection showcases these writers’ vital contributions to contemporary American literature.
Table of Contents
- Acknowledgments
- pp. xiv-xxviii
- Introduction
- pp. 1-20
- Elmaz Abinader
- pp. 21-48
- Diana Abu-Jaber
- pp. 49-54
- Susan Atefat - Peckham
- pp. 55-62
- Joseph Awad
- pp. 63-72
- Barbara Bedway
- pp. 73-94
- Joseph Geha
- pp. 95-118
- Samuel Hazo
- pp. 119-124
- Pauline Kaldas
- pp. 145-166
- Jack Marshall
- pp. 167-174
- Khaled Mattawa
- pp. 175-180
- D. H. Melhem
- pp. 181-190
- Eugene P. Nassar
- pp. 191-212
- Naomi Shihab Nye
- pp. 213-226
- Nahid Rachlin
- pp. 227-236
- Roger Sedarat
- pp. 237-240
- Contributors
- pp. 241-244