I haven’t shared any posts lately about my process of writing, because truthfully I haven’t had anything exciting to share and I haven’t had any experiences of new discoveries in terms of process. This month, a couple of things happened. I started reading Ursula K. Le Guin’s brilliant book Steering the Craft: A 21st-century GuideContinue reading “100 words – a writing exercise in condensing.”
Category Archives: Sexual Violence
What I never told my mother
I never talked to my mother about the countless sexual harassments I have experienced. Now I will never have the chance. When I asked my daughter, after her suicide attempt, why she had never come to me and told me of the bullying she had quietly suffered for years at school, her response was thatContinue reading “What I never told my mother”
To be a woman in the public sphere.
I walk into a building, followed by two men in their forties. The three of us are standing, waiting for the elevator. One of the men is talking on the phone, not paying any attention to me. The other one: staring at me in a creepy way, not taking his eyes off my body. IContinue reading “To be a woman in the public sphere.”
The Unspeakable Act – short story on sexual assault
I am excited to have my short story, The Unspeakable Act, published by FemAsia Magazine. The Unspeakable Act is a story about sexual assault. I deal with this issue in my fiction, poetry, as well as in non-fiction pieces. Because if we want to create change, we need to talk about sexual violence, and createContinue reading “The Unspeakable Act – short story on sexual assault”
walking through the hell of memory
walking through the hell of memory I won’t be tied down by – memory of your ugly acts. My body won’t be wrecked just because you – desecrated it violated it damaged it. All these wounds of mine – they are mine to claim. I will make beautiful art with them. Continue reading “walking through the hell of memory”
triggered – excerpt from “Taboos in Arabic” work-in-progress
An excerpt from “Taboos in Arabic,” my current writing project Trigger warning: post-trauma, sexual assault. With Suleiman, time redefined itself. Often, we didn’t have any need for words and we would only sit somewhere for hours, back to back or side by side, our bodies touching. And it was enough, for me. We lived inContinue reading “triggered – excerpt from “Taboos in Arabic” work-in-progress”
The cartography of my body
Come, don’t be afraid Take a closer look At my body. Can you see the map? I’ve mapped out the battlefield, Especially for you. All the wars fought on it. To the North – the ruptured country To the East – the desert of pain To the South – the river of blood To theContinue reading “The cartography of my body”
#MeToo – I’m a survivor of sexual violence
English and Arabic this is my body wounded, ripped, ruptured, bleeding. It’s been made a battlefield. But today, I reclaim it. And one day, it will heal. هذا جسدي المجروح، النازف والممزق والذي قد جعلوا منه ساحة حرب اليوم، سأدوّن ملكيّتي على جسدي، سأضمّد جراحه وفي يوم ما سيصبح معافى . #meToo #healing #وأنا_كمان #تسكتيش Tuskuteesh (don’t remainContinue reading “#MeToo – I’m a survivor of sexual violence”
Fragments of a soul – شظايا روح
This is a rough translation of an attempt to write a poem in Arabic. The poem has obviously been lost in translation, but still, I wanted to share this with you. I’ll be writing on this in English in the coming period, and probably will use this rough translation as a basis for something moreContinue reading “Fragments of a soul – شظايا روح”
the first time – memory | experimental writing
I’ll be sharing some experimental writing here with you. Please feel free to give me feedback, as I am really just stumbling through the darkness with this. I do have to warn you that it might be difficult to read, as I am working on a novel where the main character is a survivor ofContinue reading “the first time – memory | experimental writing”
Writing in the Margins 