Re/Presenting the Arab World: Arab American Playwrights Bridging the Divide

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• published: 23 Mar 2015
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"Re/Presenting the Arab World: Arab American Playwrights Bridging the Divide" Nathalie Handal, Jamil Khoury, and Heather Raffo Michael Malek Najjar, Moderator CERRU's 3rd Annual Innovation Exchange, "New Frontiers: Innovations in the Middle East" Nathalie Handal lived in Europe, Latin America, the United States and the Arab world. Pulitzer Prize winner Yusef Kumunyakaa writes, “This cosmopolitan voice belongs to the human family, and it luxuriates in crossing necessary borders. One of the most important voices of her generation.” She is the author of numerous books, most recently the critically acclaimed Poet in Andalucía and Love and Strange Horses, winner of the Gold Medal Independent Publisher Book Award. Handal is also the editor of the groundbreaking classic 'The Poetry of Arab Women: A Contemporary Anthology,' winner of the PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Book Award and named one of the top 10 Feminist Books by The Guardian; and co-editor of the W.W. Norton landmark anthology 'Language for a New Century: Contemporary Poetry from the Middle East, Asia & Beyond,' both Academy of American Poets bestsellers. Her most recent plays have been produced at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Bush Theatre, and Westminster Abbey, London. Handal is a Lannan Foundation Fellow, winner of the Alejo Zuloaga Order in Literature, and Honored Finalist for the Gift of Freedom Award, among other honors. She is a professor at Columbia University and writes the literary travel column “The City and the Writer” for Words Without Borders. Her new collection The 'Invisible Star' is the first contemporary collection of poetry that explores the city of Bethlehem and the lives of its exiles in such broad geographic spaces, especially Latin America. Jamil Khoury is Founding Artistic Director of Silk Road Rising. Promoting playwrights of Silk Road backgrounds is a passion that dovetails well with Khoury’s experiences living in the Middle East and his eleven years as a cross-cultural trainer and international relocations consultant. His vocation as a playwright lends valuable currency to fulfilling SRR’s mission as a playwright driven theatre. Khoury’s plays focus on Middle Eastern themes and questions of Diaspora. He is particularly interested in the intersections of culture, national identity, sexuality, and class. Khoury holds a M.A. degree in Religious Studies from The University of Chicago Divinity School and a B.S. degree in International Relations from Georgetown University 's School of Foreign Service. He is a Kellogg Executive Scholar (Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University) and has been awarded a Certificate of Professional Achievement in Nonprofit Management. Khoury has developed courses in Middle East Studies for The University of Chicago Graham School of General Studies and has lectured widely on Arab American affairs. Heather Raffo is the solo performer and writer of the Off Broadway hit, 'Nine Parts of Desire' which details the lives of nine Iraqi women. For her creation and performance of “Nine Parts” and its national and international tour, Heather garnered many awards including a Lucille Lortel Award, and the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn and Marian Seldes-Garson Kanin playwriting awards, as well as Helen Hayes, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama League nominations, for outstanding performance. Currently, Heather is developing a libretto for an opera commissioned by the Annenberg Foundation and City Opera Vancouver. The opera details the life of a US Marine who served in Fallujah in 2004 and relates the haunting experiences of identity and belonging for both veterans and their families as well as Iraqis. Michael Najjar is a professor, director, and playwright at the University of Oregon. His research interests include Contemporary Arab-American Theatre and Performance, Critical Race Theory, Contemporary Theatre, and Arab-American Studies. Dr. Najjar is the author of the soon to be released book, 'Arab American Drama, Film and Performance: A Critical Study, 1908 to the Present,' and editor of 'Four Arab American Plays: Works by Leila Buck, Jamil Khoury, Yussef El Guindi, and Lameece Issaq & Jacob Kader.' These works feature the plays, films, and performances of Arab American artists who are traditionally underrepresented in entertainment, publishing and academia, but whom have created works that exemplify the burgeoning Arab-American arts movement. He also directed the world premiere of Jamil Khoury’s Precious Stones and his own play Talib, both at Chicago’s Silk Road Rising. In his own words, “The classroom and rehearsal hall are places for intellectual growth, creative expression, and open dialogue. I am dedicated to a pedagogy that encourages students to achieve their highest potential through collaboration, exploration, and inspiration. I believe that the theatre is a necessary forum in society that transforms audiences and theatre artists alike.”