Mona Kareem

Mona Kareem (born 1987) is a writer, translator and literary scholar. She is also an advocate of migrant rights.[1][2][3][4]

Mona Kareem
Alma materAmerican University of Kuwait
Binghamton University
OccupationWriter, translator and literary scholar
OrganizationPrinceton University

Kareem was born and reared in Kuwait. Her family is classified as Bidoon.[5][6][3]

Education and career

Due to Kareem's stateless legal status, she was unable to attend a public university. Her academic history and poetic prowess earned her a scholarship from a charitable family in Kuwait. Kareem studied at the American University of Kuwait.[5]

Kareem received a scholarship from Binghamton University in 2011. She moved to the US and obtained a doctoral degree in Comparative Literature. Her thesis, entitled “Good Mothers, Bad Sisters: Arab Women Writers in the Nation,” explored subalternity in the Arab literary scene.[5][7] [8]

Kareem worked as a lecturer at Binghamton University and at the University of Maryland. She has held fellowships from Poetry International, Arab American National Museum, BANFF Centre, National Centre for Writing, etc. Kareem translated the novel Kindred by Octavia Butler and some poems of Alejandra Pizarnik into Arabic. She translated Instructions Within by Ashraf Fayadh (2017) and it was nominated for Best Translated Book Award. She is presently a translator-in-residence at Princeton University.[5][9][10][11]

Having faced discrimination as a Bidoon, Kareem established Bedoon Rights. It is an online reference that's dedicated towards raising awareness on the prejudice and struggles the stateless face in Kuwait.[12][3][6]

As a literary scholar, Kareem's research interests range from Arabic poetry and prose, contemporary feminist fiction, literary translation strategies and to subaltern subjectivities.[8]

Poetry

Kareem's poetry is characterized by the use of simple language and vivid imagery. It is frequently arranged in short lines. The theme often deals with feminism and identity, especially as a migrant.[13][14]

Works

At 14 years old, Kareem's poetry collection Naharaat maghsūla bi Ma-e el ’atash (Mornings Washed by Thirst’s Water) was published. She released her second anthology Ghiyab bi asabi’ mabthūra (Absence with Amputated Fingers) two years later. Kareem published Ma anamū min adjlihi el yaum in 2016. In 2019, she released trilingual poetry collection Femme Ghosts. Her books have been translated to nine languages.[5][14][15]

References
  1. Qualey, Lynx (19 February 2020). "Beyond Jokha al-Harthi: Women Writers from the Gulf - Literature". British Council Literature. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  2. Batty, David (20 November 2015). "Saudi court sentences poet to death for renouncing Islam". The Guardian. Guardian News & Media Limited. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  3. Caspani, Maria (18 September 2014). "Stateless in New York: A Woman's Life as a 'Legal Ghost'". Newsweek. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  4. Karunakan, Binu. "Why Malayalam fiction is being translated into Arabic - Times of India". The Times of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  5. Elgayar, Aisha (9 September 2020). "A Stateless Poet Finds Her Home and Identity in Literature". Al-Fanar Media. Al-Fanar Media. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  6. Ubaid, Mir. "Shadows of themselves: Portraits of statelessness". www.aljazeera.com. Al Jazeera Media Network. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  7. "The Feminist Novel is on the Rise in the Arab Gulf: An Interview with Mona Kareem". TRAFO – Blog for Transregional Research. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  8. "Forum Transregionale Studien: Mona Kareem". Forum Transregionale Studien. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  9. Valenti, Denise. "Jhumpa Lahiri champions the writerly art of translation". Princeton University. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  10. "Kareem named as Translator in Residence for fall 2020 semester | PIIRS". PIIRS. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  11. "To Translate Octavia Butler: Race, History, and Sci-Fi | PIIRS". PIIRS. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  12. "Without Citizenship: Statelessness, Discrimination, and Repression in Kuwait". Open Society Justice Initiative. Open Society Foundations. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  13. "Friday Finds: 13 Poems by Mona Kareem". ArabLit Quarterly. 7 June 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  14. "Mona Kareem (poet) - Kuwait - Poetry International". Poetry International Archives. Poetry International Rotterdam. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  15. "Immigrant Writing in a Time of Crisis: A Conversation with Mona Kareem, Grace Talusan, Deepak Unnikrishnan, and Ilan Stavans". brookline booksmith. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
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