Category: personal

HODP in Al Bayane

An interview of me appeared in Monday’s edition of Moroccan newspaper Al-Bayane. (In French. No login required.)






Reading Recap: Harvard Book Store

em>Audience: About 40.
Anxiety index: 3 (out of 10).
Surprise guest(s): Fellow Bread Loaf alum Paul Yoon. And my friend Brian, who just relocated to Boston recently.
No. of Moroccans who said hello: 4.
Book given away: An autographed copy of Salman Rushdie’s Shalimar the Clown.

I read with Chris Castellani again last night, this time at Harvard Book Store. I’ve only been to Boston once before–back during my time in the corporate world–and it was such a whirlwind, I don’t remember any of it. Walking around Harvard Square got me thinking about Amal, a college student and one of the two main characters in the novel I’m working on now.

The reading itself was pretty amazing–the audience was very engaged and they had lots of interesting questions (e.g. about the research for the book or the experience and challenges of writing in a non-native language.) I’ll try to post a photo soon.

This was the last stop on my promotional tour for Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits. I had a great time and found the experience of meeting readers a very pleasurable one. I have some reading events already scheduled for spring, but until then, I will be at home, writing. I’m dying to get back to my novel!



Back Online

Thanks to those who have emailed me to ask about reading recaps. I’m sorry I haven’t posted them sooner. I didn’t bring my laptop with me to New York, because I was trying to unplug for a few days. (I haven’t, obviously, been very successful. I just arrived in Boston this morning and I’m typing this on a friend’s computer.)

And, yes, I have now seen this MG mention on Gawker. Just in case I was foolish enough to let myself believe we live in a diverse society, along comes a racist joke to remind me that, in fact, I live in a place where my cultural background is a bigger signifier than either my words or my work.