It was standing room only at this week’s conference in downtown Los Angeles—ten thousand writers, educators and publishers from across the country—and we were thrilled to see all who came to listen Thursday morning as we talked history, women’s stories, and literature. I’m happy to share the recording of that discussion here, which features myself as moderator with panelists Ilze Duarte, Montéz Jennings, Thais Miller, and Peg Alford Pursell. Listen to the discussion at the Spotify link here, and comments are open for questions or your thoughts on the topic.
Where you can find me at #AWP25
If you’re going to LA this week for the annual conference of AWP, you can find me at these outstanding events. We’re kicking off Thursday morning with a panel at 10:35, “The Matrilineal Saga: Redefining Generational Histories,” with myself and fiction writers Ilze Duarte, Montéz Jennings, Thais Miller, and Peg Alford Pursell. I’ll be supporting WTAW Press with my fellow board members at AWP’s book fair on all three days as well as two fantastic offsite readings at the fabulous Shoo-Shoo Baby, 717 W. 7th Street, 5:30-7 pm. Hope to see you there!
Coming up—AWP25 in Los Angeles
If you're going to #AWP25, join us for what promises to be a terrific discussion about matrilineage in fiction. I'm excited to talk about generational histories and how writers of fiction might center, as well as challenge, narratives of mothers, daughters, sisters, and grandmothers—with panelists Ilze Duarte, Montéz Louria, Thaïs Miller, and Peg Alford Pursell. See you in LA!
Download our event outline and a list of recommended reading here.
A Map Is Only One Story turns five!
Happy book birthday to A Map Is Only One Story, an anthology of writing on immigration and living between languages and cultures. Released on this day in 2020, A Map is brilliantly edited by Nicole Chung and Mensah Demary, and features twenty writers’ personal narratives that look at issues including bicultural identity, crossing cultural boundaries, and the generational impact of migration. Kirkus Reviews calls this “a provocatively intelligent collection.” I’m grateful to have my essay “Arab Past, American Present” included in this beautiful book. Available at https://books.catapult.co/books/map-is-only-one-story-a/
On Altadena's eclectic architectural history
“The most tenacious of all clichés about Los Angeles is that it is a place with no past,” writes Alex Ross in his essay on the architectural losses of the Eaton and Pacific Palisades fires. I wrote about my grandparents’ Mediterranean Revival home in my latest newsletter and appreciated Ross's reporting on the historic buildings in Pacific Palisades, and in Altadena, where my family lived for almost fifty years—a span not uncommon there. Read “The Hidden Histories Lost in the Los Angeles Fires,” here.
Pictured, From the NYer: “The Freedman House, built in 1949, has been largely destroyed. Photographs by Julius Shulman / Courtesy The Getty Research Institute Digital Collections”
My February Newsletter is live
After an unplanned hiatus, my latest newsletter is out, with thoughts on Altadena, family heritage, and the many forms of erasure in the wake of the Eaton Fire. There’s also good news—a story upcoming in a great publication, and details on the panel I’ll be moderating at AWP in Los Angeles. Read, and subscribe, here.
Self-portrait in Golden Gate Park, ink on paper, ca. 1988
My Interview with The Blue Mountain Review
Thank you to The Blue Mountain Review, The Southern Collective Experience, and Lynne Kemen for giving me the chance to talk about topics close to my heart—The Museum of Americana:, editing prose, the museum's new prose co-editors Montéz Louria and Andy Harper, and what's next. Thanks too to Justin Hamm for the connection. Read the interview, and the full issue here.
On The Virtues of Slow Writing, at The Millions
I wrote about writing that takes time to as a way to investigate my own slow pace, and to learn from other writers how to cultivate the patience that’s necessary to get through. I shouldn’t have been surprised when the essay took far longer than I expected. Pages had to be thrown out, ideas ditched, examples streamlined, and in that sense, the essay was not so different than the projects I’d undertaken to examine. So when I learned the essay would be published by the wonderful book site, The Millions, that made the experience that much more rewarding In the process of writing the piece, there were abundant resources available—Louise DeSalvo’s The Art of Slow Writing: Reflections on Time, Craft, and Creativity, for one, along with testimonials from writers I reached out to who provided wonderful insights on how they manage time when their books go into overtime. You can read “The Virtues of Slow Writing” here.
Art: David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl, Two Turtles (1690)
My latest for Alta Journal's California Book Club
The CBC”s March read is The Other Americans, by Laila Lalami, and as part of the book club’s essay series, I wrote about Yucca Valley, the novel’s setting, Yucca Valley, California, and the years my father spent there in the 60s and 70s. You can read the essay here.
My father, Muneef Alwan, sweeping snow off his Corvette in a rare Mojave snowfall, in a photo taken around 1971.
See you in Kansas City at AWP
If you’re headed to AWP in Kansas City next week, put the museum on your dance card! We’ll be at Nighthawk for a casual meetup with museum staff, friends, and contributors. Nighthawk is located in the Hotel Kansas City, one block from the Kansas City Convention Center at Baltimore & W. 13th St.
Join us!
Where: Nighthawk Bar at Hotel Kansas City
1228 Baltimore Avenue (at W. 13th St), Kansas City, MO 64105
When: Thursday, Feb. 8, after the keynote, 9:45 pm
Who: museum staff, friends, and contributors
You can also find me at the bookfair staffing Booth T1422 for WTAW Press, and via Connections in the AWP24 app. See you there!