‘Writers from Beirut’

When we see Beirut in the news it is usually for the migration crisis, ethnic and cultural conflicts, and East-West geopolitical intrigue. But the capital of Lebanon also appeals to our literary imagination. The city of beauty and devastation has inspired countless writers from the Arab and Western worlds and has always been at the epicentre of Middle Eastern literature. BOZAR and the Moussem nomadic arts centre extend a welcome to three authors from Beirut. They will read from their books and speak about how the city has influenced their writing – an evening at the intersection of literature and politics, moderated by Nedjma Hadj Benchelabi.

Hoda Barakat
Born in Beirut, Hoda Barakat has lived in Paris since 1989. She worked as a teacher, journalist and translator during the Lebanese Civil War. She has written several novels translated into English: The Stone of Laughter, The Tiller of Waters and Disciples of Passion. In 2000, she was awarded the Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature for her work.
Hoda Barakat will be in Brussels in the frame of an writer's residency at Passa Porta, the international house of literature.

Iman Humaydan
Iman Humaydan was born in Ayn Enoub, Lebanon, in 1956. She lives in Paris and Beirut. After studying anthropology, she began to work as a writer. B As in Beirut won critical acclaim. It was followed by Wild Mulberries and Other Lives. These fictional stories have been translated into several languages.

Elias Khoury
Born in Beirut in 1948, Elias Khoury is currently the chief editor of the Journal of Palestine Studies (Arabic edition) in Beirut. A literary critic, essayist and columnist, he has written a dozen books, including Gate of the Sun, Yalo, White Masks, As Though She Were Sleeping, and Broken Mirrors: Sinalcol.