City of Asylum presents: Arab Voices

Join our friends from City of Asylum as we welcome a panel of Arab poets!

Rania Mamoun is a Sudanese activist and bestselling writer of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. She completed Something Evergreen Called Life, a poetry manuscript written during COVID-19 quarantine, translated into English by Yasmine Seale and published by Action Books in March 2023. Rania has published two novels to great international acclaim, Green Flash and Son of the Sun, and Thirteen Months of Sunrise, a short story collection shortlisted for the 2020 Warwick Prize for Women in Translation. Rania just completed a short story collection in Arabic called A Lonely Woman under the Neem Tree, forthcoming for publication. Rania continues to organize for democracy in Sudan. Her writing has appeared in English, Korean, French, and Spanish translation. She is a Writer-in-Residence at City of Asylum since 2019.

Mukhtar Shehata is a novelist and ethnographer from the Egyptian Delta whose work explores social change, class, gender resistance, and urbanism in rural Egypt. He has published more than 15 books in Arabic, including novels, short stories, and research papers, and his book Diary of an Arab in the Land of the Samiba won the 2019 Ibn Battuta Award for Travel Literature. Mukhtar graduated from the University of Bahia in Brazil and works as a Research Fellow in the Department of Languages, Cultures, and Applied Linguistics at Carnegie Mellon University. He is the newest Writer-in-Residence at City of Asylum Pittsburgh.

Anouar Rahmani is an Algerian novelist, journalist, and human rights defender whose literary work boldly challenges societal norms and advocates for freedom of expression, LGBTQ+ rights, and social justice. Born in 1992, Rahmani has emerged as a fearless and uncompromising voice in Algerian and Arabic literature, using fiction as a powerful tool to confront authoritarianism, religious dogma, and the erasure of marginalized identities. Since 2019, he has been working on a new novel, continuing his tradition of blending poetic symbolism with sharp political critique. He has published four novels, each igniting critical discourse and controversy. Beyond literature, Rahmani has built a distinguished career as an international news editor, journalist, and columnist, with his work featured in renowned media outlets worldwide.