This book talk is presented by The Middle East Forum, Roger Owen & Sara Roy, co-chairs, and the Middle East Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School.
Samar Yazbek is a Syrian novelist, journalist and author. She has written in a wide variety of genres - novels, short stories, film scripts, television dramas, film and TV criticism, and edited Women of Syria, a feminist e-zine. She has also made a documentary about the Syrian scholar Anton Maqdesi.
Yazbek has been a prominent voice in support of human rights and women's rights in Syria. Her debut novel, Tiflat as-Sama (Heavenly Girl), challenged existing taboos in Syrian society. She is a member of the minority Alawite community, and is an opponent of the regime of the President Bashir al-Assad. She took part in the 2011 protests against the Assad regime, and subsequently was detained by security forces and also banned from travelling outside Syria.
In 2010, Yazbek was selected as one of the Beirut39, a group of 39 Arab writers under the age of 40 chosen through a contest organized by Banipal magazine and the Hay Festival.
This event is open to the public; no registration required. Please note: all recording devices are prohibited without the advance written permission of the speaker and the chair.
Following this talk, there will be a book signing at 1:30 pm at the Harvard COOP, 1400 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA.
Contact: Sara Roy
Sponsor(s): Middle East Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School; Center for Middle Eastern Studies
LOCATION:Weil Town Hall Belfer Building, Ground floor, Harvard Kennedy School, 79 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA STATUS:CONFIRMED DTSTART:20120921T160000Z DTEND:20120921T171500Z END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR