Join Thomas Mann Fellow Ghayath Almadhoun and author Randa Jarrar for a reading and conversation with scholar and writer Sarah Yanni.

Join us for the event Exiled Joy at Beyond Baroque: an evening with authors Randa Jarrar and Ghayath Almadhoun in conversation with scholar and editor Sarah Yanni. After the readings, authors will engage in a brief Q&A led by scholar and Mexican-Egyptian writer Sarah Yanni. The conversation will expand on how Arab diasporas experience joy in a position where their identity and culture is antagonized in the Western world and prosecuted in their homelands. These topics, and more, will be discussed in-depth from the perspective of writers living in exile in the aftermath of political conflicts in the Middle East.

Ghayath Almadhoun is a Palestinian poet born in Damascus, Syria, who emigrated to Sweden in 2008 and now lives in Berlin. He published four poetry collections in Arabic, and his work has been translated into dozens of languages. Ghayath Almadhoun collaborated with other poets and artists, and his poetry has been part of the work of U.S. artist Jenny Holzer, German musician Blixa Bargeld, and others. His latest collection Adrenalin, published in English by Action Books 2017, was among the SPD Poetry Bestsellers in the U.S. and nominated for the 2018 Best Translated Book Award. His selected poems Ein Raubtier namens Mittelmeer ("Predator called the Mediterranean") ranked top of the Litprom-Bestenliste 2018 of best books translated into German.

Randa Jarrar is a celebrated author and translator who grew up in Egypt and moved back to the U.S. at thirteen. Her latest memoir, Love is an Ex-Country, recollects a life lived with daring autonomy and survival. From surviving domestic assault as a child and later as a wife, as well as threats and doxxing after her viral tweet about Barbara Bush, Jarrar offers a bold look at domestic violence, single motherhood, and sexuality through the lens of the punished-yet-triumphant body.

Sarah Sophia Yanni is a Mexican-Egyptian writer, researcher & educator in Los Angeles. She was a Finalist for BOMB Magazine’s Poetry Contest, Poetry Online’s Launch Prize, the Hayden’s Ferry Review Inaugural Poetry Contest, & the Letras Latinas Andrés Montoya Poetry Prize. A Best of the Net nominee, she is the author of the chapbook ternura / tenderness (Bottlecap Press) and her work can be found in SPECTRA Poets, Mizna, Pom Pom Lit, feelings, and others. She currently serves as Managing Editor of TQR, Poetry Editor of The Dry River, and hosts a monthly radio show called Portals.

This program is presented by Beyond Baroque in collaboration with The Thomas Mann House, Mizna, and the Radius of Arab American Writers.