DISCOVER Arab-Canadian Writers
Naim Kattan (b. 1928)
Naim Kattan Born in Baghdad to an Arab Jewish family, Kattan studied law at the Sorbonne in France, then moved to Canada in 1954. He lives in Montreal and writes in French. His most famous book, Farwell Babylon, was published in 1975. It is a fictionalized memoires written in French about his early years in Iraq before the immigration wave that forced many yjewish Iraqis to flee the country in 1954. Kattan wrote novels, short stories, essays and theatre.
Nadia Ghalem (b. 1941)
Nadia Ghalem Born in Algeria to a Muslim family of Berber, Turkish, and Arab origins, Ghalem moved to Canada in 1965. She lives in Montreal and writes in French. She is the author of Exile (poems, 1980); Gardens of Crystal (novel, 1981); TheBlueNight(short stories, 1991).
Abla Farhoud (b. 1945)
Abla Farhoud Abla Farhoud is a playwright born in Lebanon, moved to Canada in the late 1950s. She studied theatre in France and has an MA in Theatre from the University of Quebec in Montreal. She writes in French. Her work includes: Les filles du 5-10-15 (1993), Jeux de patience (1997), Théâtre québécois contemporain (1997), Le bonheur a la queue glissante (1998), Maudite machine (1999), Splendide solitude (2001), Les rues de l'alligator (2003), Le fou d'omar (2005), Le Sourire de la Petite Juive (2011).
John Asfour (b. 1945)
John Asfour Born in Lebanon, John Asfour moved to Canada in 1968. He is the author of 5 volumes of poetry in English and 2 volumes in Arabic. He resides in Montreal. Translator and author of an anthology of poetry titled When the Words Burn: An Anthology of Modern Arabic Poetry. His publications include: Blindfold 2010; Fields of my Blood His publications include: Blindfold, 2010; Fields of my Blood, 1997; One Fish from the Rooftop, 1992.
Mona Latif-Ghattas (b. 1946)
Mona Latif-Ghattas Born in Egypt, Mona Latif-Ghattas immigrated to Canada in 1966 and studied Theatre and French literature at the University of Montreal. She writes in French and translates from Arabic to French. She published poetry novels stories translations and She published poetry, novels, stories, translations and produced music recitals of her own poetry. Her work includes: Nicolas le fils du Nil; Les voix du jour et de la nuit; Lunes de miel; Quarante voiles pour un exil; Le double conte de l exil; Les filles de Sophie Barrât; Les chants modernes du bienaimé; and Le livre ailé.
Rawi Hage (b. 1964)
Rawi Hage Rawi Hage was born in Beirut and lived through nine years of the Lebanese civil war. He is a writer and a visual artist and resides in Montreal since 1991. His novel De Niro's Game (2006), was a finalist for numerous prestigious national and international awards, and won the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. His second novel Cockroach (2008) won the Quebec Writers' Federation Award and was shortlisted for numerous prestigious awards including the Scotia Bank Giller Prize, the Governor General's Award, The Writers' Trust Award, and the Prix des libraires du Québec.
May Telmissany (b. 1965)
May Telmissany Born in Cairo in the cosmopolitan neighborhood of Heliopolis, May Telmissany immigrated to Canada in 1998. After finishing i her Ph.D in Comparative Literature and Cinema (Université de Montréal, 2005), she moved to Ottawa where she currently teaches in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures. Telmissany published three novels, Duniazad (1997), Heliopolis (2000) and Acappella (2012); two short stories collections: Repetitive Sculpture (1995) and Mental Betrayals (1999) as well as a book of memoirs: The Gates of Paradise: Chronicals of Exile (2009). Her literary work, published in Arabic, is translated into seven European languages. g
Iman Mersal (b. 1966)
Iman Mersal Iman Mersal is a poet born in Egypt in 1966. She moved to Canada in 1997 at the age of 31. She lives and works as a university professor in Edmonton, Alberta. She published 4 poetry volumes including A Dark Passageway Is Suitable for Learning to Dance (1995); Walking as Long as Possible (1997) and Alternative Geography (2006) all published in Cairo. An anthology of her work was published in English under the title: These are not Oranges my Love.
Nada Sattouf (b. 1966)
Nada Sattouf Nada Sattouf is a poet born in Lebanon in 1966. She moved to Canada in 2002. She is currently writing a PhD dissertation in French literature at the University of Sherbrook. Nada Sattouf writes in French. She published two poetry volumes in Lebanon, and two volumes in Canada: Mémoires et un sommeil published in Montreal in 2007 and Bayt, published in Montreal in 2009.
Wajdi Mouawad (b. 1968)
WjdiM Wajdi Mouawad Wajdi Mouawad is one of the most prominent playwhright and theatre director in Canada. Born in Lebanon in 1968, he moved to Canada in 1983. His publications include: 1996: Alphonse; ; 1999: Les mains d'edwige au moment de la naissance; 1999-2009: Littoral; 2000: Pacamambo; 2002: Rêves; 2003: Incendies; 2004: Willy Protagoras enfermé dans les toilettes; 2006: Forêts; 2007: Assoiffés; 2008: Seuls - Chemin, texte et peintures; 2009: Ciels; 2011: Journée de noces chez les Cromagnons. His HspayIncendies play (Scorched) has been produced all over the world, including the United States, Austria, Germany, Mexico and Australia, and the 2007 production at the Tarragon Theatre in Toronto won several awards. Incendies the film version of the play (directed by Denis Villeneuve) is Canada's official selection for the 2011 Academy Awards.
Dimitri Nasrallah Dimitri Nasrallah (b. 1977)
Dimitri Nasrallah Dimitri Nasrallah was born in 1977 during the Lebanese civil war. In 1981, his family went into exile, living in Athens, Kuwait, and Dubai before immigrating to Canada in 1988. He is the author of two novels, Niko (Esplanade Editions, 2011) and Blackbodying (DC Books, 2005). His first novel won the Quebec Writers Federation McAuslan First Book Award and was named finalist for the Grand Prix du Livre de Montreal. Since 2000, he has published numerous short stories in magazines and journals.