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.”
Tag 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”
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”
Interview with me about my feminist activism
As a feminist activist, I am contacted regularly by international volunteers, interns, and researchers who are doing research on feminism. I usually don’t like the end result, as my quotes are all too often taken out of context. This time, however, I was glad that the researcher made extra effort and worked with me, meetingContinue reading “Interview with me about my feminist activism”
from “Six Weeks – Summer of 2006” work-in-progress
In the evening, I carry the pieces of my mother’s stories up the Haifa stairs. I carry them gently, for I am afraid to drop one of them, lose a second, forget a third. For these are not merely pieces of her stories, they are pieces of herself. She has given me these stories, memories,Continue reading “from “Six Weeks – Summer of 2006” work-in-progress”
Writing in the Margins 