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The winners of the 2014 Arab American Book Awards were revealed by the Arab American National Museum on Tuesday, with several books written about Arab American culture published in 2013 in contention.
Among the winners were “The Corpse Washer” by Sinan Antoon for the Fiction Award, “We Are Iraqis: Aesthetics and Politics in a Time of War” by Nadje Al-Ali and Deborah Al-Najjar for the Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Award, “A Concordance of Leaves” by Philip Metres for the George Ellenbogen Poetry Award and “A Kid’s Guide to Arab American History” by Yvonne Wakim Dennis and Maha Addasi for the Children’s/Young Adult Award.
The winners will be celebrated at the Arab American Book Award ceremony and reception, which will serve as the closing night event at the biennial meeting of RAWI (Radius of Arab American Writers) and Minneapolis’ Arab arts presenter Mizna. It takes place at 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014, at The Loft Literary Center at Open Book, 1011 S. Washington Ave. in Minneapolis. Several authors, editors, publishers, academics and cultural creative will celebrate 2013’s best books on the Arab American experience at a national literary gathering in Minneapolis next month.
This year’s authors and editors reside in California, New York, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia, Michigan, Ohio, Texas and Ontario, Canada. Publishers of winning titles are based in Connecticut; Idaho; Illinois; Washington State; Ontario, Canada, and Doha, Qatar.
The Arab American National Museum (AANM), located in Dearborn, Michigan, documents, preserves and presents Arab American history, culture and contributions.
The Arab American book award “encourages the publication and excellence of books that preserve and advance the understanding, knowledge, and resources of the Arab American community by celebrating the thoughts and lives of Arab Americans. The purpose of the Award is to inspire authors, educate readers, and foster a respect and understanding of Arab American culture”.
“The Corpse Washer” was originally written in Arabic and translated to English by its author Sinan Antoon. It tells the story of Jawad, a young man born to a traditional Shi’ite family of corpse washers and shrouders in Baghdad. He decides to abandon the family tradition, choosing instead to become a sculptor, to celebrate life rather than tend to death. But the circumstances of history dictate otherwise. Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship and the economic sanctions of the 1990s destroy the socioeconomic fabric of society. The 2003 invasion and military occupation unleash sectarian violence. Trained as an artist to shape materials to represent life aesthetically, Jawad now must contemplate how death shapes daily life and the bodies of Baghdad’s inhabitants.
Sinan Antoon is a poet, novelist, translator, and is an associate professor at the Gallatin School, New York University, and cofounder and coeditor of the cultural page of Jadaliyya. Born in Iraq, Antoon now lives in New York City.The Corpse Washer is his second novel. His previous work, Ya Maryam (Ava Maria) was shortlisted for the 2013 International Prize of Arabic Fiction (The Arabic Booker). His work has appeared in The Nation, Al-Ahram Weekly, Middle East Report, Banipal, The Massachusetts Review, Journal of Palestine Studies, World Literature Today, Washington Square Journal, Ploughshares, and the New York Times.
“We Are Iraqis: Aesthetics and Politics in a Time of War” showcase written and visual contributions by Iraqi artists, writers, poets, filmmakers, photographers, and activists, many of whom now live in the U.S. The contributors face issues common to immigrants – identity in diaspora, the lasting impact of war, cultures in transition – compounded by America’s invasion of their home country. “We Are Iraqis” is a highly relevant and much needed addition to this under-published subfield within Arab and Arab American studies.
Nadje Al-Ali is professor of gender studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies at the University of London. Her publications include Iraqi Women: Untold Stories from 1948 to the Present and What Kind of Liberation? Women and the Occupation of Iraq (coauthored with Nicola Pratt).
Deborah Al-Najjar is a PhD candidate in the Department of American Studies and Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. Her fiction has been published in the Kenyon Review, the Michigan Quarterly Review and the Indiana Review.
“A Concordance of Leaves” has author Philip Metres recall his 2003 visit to the village of Toura in the Palestinian West Bank, on the occasion of his sister’s wedding to a resident of the village. This epic wedding poem encompasses both the Arab and Arab American experiences, working brilliantly within self-imposed constraints. Fellow Arab American Book Award winner Naomi Shihab Nye calls the piece “a tender book so transporting it carries us deeply into the soul of Palestine as well as the love of a family.”
Philip Metres, born in San Diego, California and raised in Lincolnshire, Illinois, is an award-winning American poet, scholar, translator and activist. He has written a number of books, most recently the chapbook abu ghraib arias (Flying Guillotine, 2011), winner of the 2012 Arab American Book Award, and To See the Earth (Cleveland State, 2008). His work has appeared in Best American Poetry and many other journals and anthologies. He is the recipient of two NEA fellowships, a Watson Fellowship, four Ohio Arts Council Grants, the Anne Halley Prize, and the Cleveland Arts Prize. He teaches literature and creative writing at John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio. Metres blogs frequently and teaches issues related to non-violent resistance to war and racism in the United States, Middle East, and Northern Ireland.
“A Kid’s Guide to Arab American History” dispels stereotypes and provides a look at the people and experiences that have shaped Arab American culture in a format enjoyable for elementary students. Each chapter focuses on a different group of Arab Americans including those of Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, Jordanian, Egyptian, Iraqi and Yemeni descent. Short biographies of notable Arab Americans including Danny Thomas, Paula Abdul, Helen Zughaib and Ralph Nade, demonstrate a wide variety of careers and contributions. The book also features more than 50 fun activities that highlight Arab American arts, language, games, clothing and food.
Yvonne Wakim Dennis is a Cherokee and Syrian author, curriculum developer, social worker, and multicultural consultant. She previously coauthored the award-winning A Kid’s Guide to Native American History and Native Americans Today. She lives in New York City.
Maha Addasi is the author of The White Nights of Ramadan and Time to Pray, which received the 2011 Arab American Book Award honorable mention. She has been a freelance writer, news correspondent, television anchor, and radio producer in Amman, Jordan. She was born in Kuwait and lives in Fairfax, Virginia.