Episode 100 with Susan Muaddi Darraj: Versatile Writer of Moving and Well-Researched Works for All Ages and ”Portraits of Flawed, Ordinary Humans with Whom the reader Can Feel Joy, Pain and Empathy”

Episode 100 Notes and Links to Susan Muaddi Darraj’s Work 

 

    On Episode 100 of The Chills at Will Podcast, Pete welcomes Susan Muaddi Darraj, and the two talk about their shared love for S.E. Hinton and public libraries, in addition to Susan’s history with language and words. They also discuss, among other topics, Susan’s versatile writing and knack for getting inside the heads of her characters and her reading public, her experience with Palestinan-American representation in literature, as well as her award-winning work for adults and middle-graders. 

 

    Susan Muaddi Darraj’s short story collection, A Curious Land: Stories from Home, was named the winner of the AWP Grace Paley Prize for Short Fiction, judged by Jaime Manrique.   It also won the 2016 Arab American Book Award, a 2016 American Book Award, and was shortlisted for a Palestine Book Award. Her previous short story collection, The Inheritance of Exile, was published in 2007 by University of Notre Dame Press.

In 2018, she was named a Ford Fellow by USA Artists. Susan also is a two-time recipient of an Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council. She has also been awarded a Ruby’s Artist Grant from the Greater Baltimore Cultural Alliance and a grant from the Sustainable Arts Foundation.

In 2019, she launched the viral #TweetYourThobe social media campaign to promote Palestinian culture. Later that year, she was named winner of the Rose Nader Award, by the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC), an award given by the Nader family to a person who “demonstrates an unwavering dedication and commitment to values of equality and justice.”

In January 2020, Capstone Books launched her debut children’s chapter book series, Farah Rocks, about a smart, brave Palestinian American girl named Farah Hajjar.

 

Buy Susan Muaddi Darraj's Work

 

"Memory, home and belonging in 'A Curious Land' "

 

Susan Muaddi Darraj’s Articles for Middle East Eye

 

Necessary Fiction’s Review of A Curious Land: Stories from Home

At about 3:00, Pete asks Susan about her childhood relationship with language and reading

 

At about 8:45, Susan lists and describes some memorable books that have informed her work and that she loved as a kid 

 

At about 10:20, Susan discusses representation and how she felt or didn’t feel represented as an adolescent and beyond; she also describes her groundbreaking series, Farah Rocks

 

At about 11:55, Susan discusses how “demoralizing” it was in not seeing her experience in what she read as a kid, and the implications of a pertinent quote from Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop

 

At about 13:20, Susan describes in late high school and college how Naomi Shihab Nye’s Habibi was shocking and transformative for her

 

At about 14:30, Pete references the Episode 94 kudos and appreciation for Naomi Shihab Nye

 

At about 15:45, Pete wonders about lack of representation or negative representation for Arab-Americans/Palestinians, and Susan details the negative stereotypes that often lead to/come from Aladdin

 

At about 18:55, Susan responds to Pete’s question about inspirations and “ “Eureka’ moments” that catapulted her writing career, and she cites writers like Sylvia Plath, bell hooks, James Baldwin, Toni Morrison, Sandra Cisneros, Isabel Allende, and more

 

At about 22:50, Pete inquires about Susan’s relationship with Richard Wright’s work

 

At about 23:55, Susan details her college experience and her parents’ view of her studies; she references common career expectations in Arab-American/immigrant communities and how she began to write as she taught literature 

 

At about 28:30, Susan references #5amwritersclub and Maya Angelou’s philosophy about early morning writing

 

At about 29:35, Pete asks Susan about who she’s reading now; she shouts out S.K. Ali, Aisha Saeed, Hena Khan, and Saadia Faruqi

 

At about 31:00, Susan describes the excellence of poetry that draws her back, including T.S. Elliott’s “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

 

At about 31:35, Pete wonders how being a successful published writer has affected the way she reads 

 

At about 33:30, Susan talks about being “energized” by movies and TV and their structure and characterization

 

At about 35:10, Susan talks about the biographies for young readers she wrote for Chelsea House Publishing, as well as the phenomenon of “reluctant readers for preteen boys”

 

At about 37:50, Pete wonders about how Susan gets her work to the correct level for young readers

 

At about 38:40, Pete and Susan use S.E. Hinton’s work as an example of an impeccable sense of what young readers are drawn to; Pete talks about the chills that came with the cyclical nature of the book, and Susan is reminded of the iconic Theme for English B by Langston Hughes

 

At about 40:50, Pete recommends That Was Then, This is Now

 

At about 41:15, Susan gives some background on the title character’s name and significance for the Farah Rocks… Series, as well talking about her choices in translation

 

At about 45:00, Susan and Pete talk about ableism and “the new girl” as theme, as well as some subtle 

 

At about 48:00, Susan talks about two upcoming projects

 

At about 48:40, Pete asks about the seeds for the book and the title of A Curious Land: Stories from Home, and Susan discusses the connection between the collection and her first book, The Inheritance of Exile: Stories from South Philly

 

At about 51:00, Susan discusses research done for A Curious Land: Stories from Home

 

At about 53:10, Pete wonders about any pressures Susan might feel in writing from the point-of-view of a member of the Palestianian diaspora, and in talking about her changing attitude regarding this, Susan quotes Jacqueline Woodson

 

At about 55:00, Pete asks Susan who else is “doing the work” in writing varied stories of the Palestinian community, including Eta Frum and Susan Abulhawa

 

At about 56:00, Susan gives background on the epigraphs for A Curious Land…

 

At about 58:00, Pete and Susan highlight the beginning of the collection in setting the scene for the thematically-linked collection and talk about themes of agency and women’s role in society, and sacrifice

 

At about 1:00:45, Pete asks Susan about her goal/rationale for using the town of the collection as a “character,” almost like Faulkner’s Yoknaptawpha County, including the effects of the Occupation

 

At about 1:03:00, Susan talks about the diversity of The Middle East and the ironies of people assuming that she needs to be taught about Christianity; she references an article on these misconceptions by Ryan al-Natour

 

At about 1:07:00, Susan describes a “family-tree effect” that she instituted for her collection

 

At about 1:08:30, Pete reads from a review of the collection

 

At about 1:10:00, Susan goes in-depth about upcoming projects

 

At about 1:13:25, Susan gives her contact info and social media info 

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The intro song for The Chills at Will Podcast is “Wind Down” (Instrumental Version), and the other song played on this episode was “Hoops” (Instrumental)” by Matt Weidauer, and both songs are used through ArchesAudio.com.

Please tune in for the next episode, Episode 101 with Mia St. John, former five time world champion boxer and dedicated advocate for improved mental health facilities and care. She is the author of the recently-published Fighting For My Life: A Memoir about a Mother's Loss and Grief. The episode will air on January 25.