Two Mizna published authors, Sahar Mustafah & George Abrahamare hosting a virtual launch party for their respective book releases: THE BEAUTY OF YOUR FACE (Norton) & Birthright (Button Poetry). *note: due to the intense nature of the work, they recommend this event for ages 14+.
PRE-ORDER LINKS:
bit.ly/TheBeautyofYourFace
bit.ly/georgebirthright
Birthright is a book that balances the weight of place. The pride and shame and worth of homeland. Palestine, a homeland under siege and under scrutiny from a world that doesn’t occupy its borders. Moving through invented and broken poetic forms, Birthright pulls together all corners of the author’s pride in home, but also a desire to understand the violent cycles of the American machinery of war. Named a top spring release by Library Journal, Birthright has been called “a miraculous debut,” (Craig Santos Perez), and “In a lineage of many broken hearts & heart attacks, here is a heart too brave to mutter or flail.” (Naomi Shihab-Nye).
A uniquely American story told in powerful, evocative prose, The Beauty of Your Face navigates a country growing ever more divided. Afaf Rahman, the daughter of Palestinian immigrants, is the principal of Nurrideen School for Girls, a Muslim school in the Chicago suburbs. One morning, a shooter―radicalized by the online alt-right―attacks the school. Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2020 by Marie Claire, Bustle, Real Simple, and Literary Hub, a Palestinian American woman wrestles with faith, loss, and identity before coming face-to-face with a school shooter in this searing debut.
AUTHOR BIOS:
Sahar Mustafah is the daughter of Palestinian immigrants. Her short stories have been awarded the Guild Literary Complex Prize for fiction, a Distinguished Story honor from Best American Short Stories, and three Pushcart Prize nominations, among other honors. She teaches literature and creative writing to high-school students outside of Chicago.
George Abraham is a Palestinian American poet and PhD candidate at Harvard University. They are a Kundiman fellow, and a board member for the Radius of Arab American Writers (RAWI). Their debut poetry collection, Birthright, is forthcoming with Button Poetry in April 2020.