theculturalconnect.com | laila halaby

Website

www.lailahalaby.net www.beacon.org

Name

Laila Halaby
Writer

Hometown

Tucson, Arizona

Current residence

Tucson, Arizona

Education

Loyola Marymount University, MA in Counseling
University of California-Los Angeles, MA in Near Eastern Languages and Culture
Fulbright Scholarship, Irbid, Jordan
Washington University, St. Louis, Double BA in Italian and Arabic

Work Experience

writing:
Once in a Promised Land (Beacon, 2007)

poetry:
Published in journals and anthologies
Palestinian folktales (unpublished)

day jobs:
counselor, teacher, translator, library assistant, waitress

Ethnicity

Jordanian and American

What's your background?

Two things ever-present in my life have been books and issues of identity. I suppose it was only a matter of time before the two intersected. I have always loved stories, reading them and writing them, and it was an easy way to process my life. The fact that my parents were from two worlds that never seemed to properly intersect made me acutely aware of my role in each, and the differences in them, which has worked its way into the characters in my stories.

I have always had day jobs, which have helped me to keep my life in perspective, kept me from dwelling on me and look outward at the many struggles that people go through in their lives.

My grandfather on my mother's side, used to tell stories about growing up poor in Philadelphia, how much he had to struggle (his parents and siblings were born in Scotland) to make it. I think he nurtured both my love for stories and my respect for the hurdles that so many people have to get over.

I wrote West of the Jordan in the early nineties. It's a coming of age story about four girls, all Palestinian cousins, and all living in different places (US, Jordan, West Bank). I tried to get it published in the mid-nineties, tried to find an agent, but no one was interested. I resigned myself to get a real job, a real life. I went back to school, got a Masters in counseling (I wanted to be an elementary school counselor) and had children.

Life plugged along merrily for awhile, with writing being relegated to the back burner. After 9/11, with all the negativity, the one-sidedness, and the hatred that flowed so easily, I felt I needed to try again to get my book published. I sent a few chapters around again and they were picked from the slush pile at Beacon Press.

Once in a Promised Land (also published by Beacon Press) is the story of a marriage falling apart. The main character is a hydrologist, obsessed by water, by the fundamental right for all people to have access to clean water. Both he and his wife (he's Jordanian, she's Palestinian) are trying to live out their dreams, but both of them are not honest with one another, the result being that their relationship unravels further. The backdrop to their story is post 9/11 America, a place that is increasingly suspicious and distrusting. Their character weaknesses become sinister actions in the eyes of some of the people around them.

What are your day-to-day responsibilities?

I try to write every day. A good portion of Once in a Promised Land was written between 4 and 6 in the morning. My kids were younger then, I was working more hours at my job, and it seemed to be the only time when I could really work undisturbed. I am still working part time, but fewer hours, which actually helps with momentum. I am not a sit-around-and-mull-over-life type. I find that stories sift themselves into place when I am moving through the day. I use the early morning hours and other available time to write it all down.

Most notable milestones

Having kids. Of course I am also pleased that my books have been published, that they've come out as they have. West of the Jordan won a PEN/Beyond Margins Award and Once in a Promised Land has been chosen by Barnes and Noble for its 'Discover Great New Authors' program.

What's the niche?

I am both Arab and American, rather than Arab-American. It may seem a silly distinction -- a conjunction versus a hyphen -- but while I was born in Lebanon, we came to the States when I was young, so I did not come to America and experience life as an immigrant, nor did my parents immigrate (my father always lived in Jordan). Instead, I have always had to struggle with two rather distinct worlds. When I was younger it was difficult, always trying to figure out where my right spot was. Now I see what it has given me as a person, and also what it has allowed me to do as a writer.

What's the biggest challenge?

So much of writing involves promotion, which is my weak spot. Once I have written something, I am not so interested in going about making sure others read it, though of course that is what I would like to happen.

Also, ideas don't just stop when it's time to make breakfast, or when school is out for the day, and sometimes it's hard to shift gears and turn off the imaginary characters so that I can focus on my children. I want to always be there for them, not to be distracted or gone because of my work.

What's in store for the future?

I am working on so many different projects now and I hope that they will all reach fruition, especially the stuff for kids (folktales, adventure series, young adult novel). I have started what may be novel #3, and I have tons of poetry I would like to send to journals.

Who would you like to be contacted by?

Anyone with questions or comments. Readers. Writers. Translators. Currently neither of my books have been translated and I think there would be so much interest in them in many different places. I strongly believe in people connecting with one another across cultures, and literature is such a great way to do that.

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Best way to keep a competitive edge

Be disciplined. I realized that if I didn't get up early to write, there was no other time in the day when it would happen. I could be resentful all I wanted, but it was still in my control. Once I got the hang of it, I realized that it was a matter of making myself do it daily -- even if it was just for a little bit. Writing daily adds up to a lot over time.

Guiding principle in life

Be true to yourself.

Yardstick of success

In writing I think it's the comments about how my characters or stories have stuck with someone after they finished, or how they made them think, that make me feel I've done my job well. One friend told me "Wow, you really know how to go straight to people's stereotypes and push them away." On a day-to-day basis, it's how much of the day is filled with laughter. How much of the day is busy.

Goal yet to be achieved

I would love for Once in a Promised Land to be made into a movie. I would also like to have my books for children published.

Best practical advice

A friend once told me that for every good page you write, you have to get through ten bad ones first. Having that in my head, that I have to write and write to get to what I want, helps a great deal. (And the ten bad ones are never as awful as I think at the time.)

Supportive words from a family member or friend on your venture

I have had so much support from so many people in so many different ways, from my mom, my husband, my kids and my community.

One comment that sticks with me came from a dear friend, who has been supportive of my writing for many many years. After I published West of the Jordan, which is based around a village in Palestine, he told me, "You've done a country a favor." That statement still gives me chills, knowing that I have offered something that might help in terms of understanding and humanizing Palestinians for American readers.

Mentor

My editor, Helene Atwan, who is the director of Beacon Press, has been the best thing that could have happened to my writing career. She absolutely understands me, can always see the bigger picture, and find ways to make my writing stronger. She has a tremendous belief in the value of what I am doing.

What motivated you to get started?

I have always written. I don't think I ever started, so much as my writing just evolved. I do remember reading Cry the Beloved Country as a teenager and realizing how powerful writing could be, wondering if my writing could ever affect people in that way.

Like best about what you do?

That I can create something totally new. That I can be a positive force. That I have control over my day.

Like least about what you do?

That it's all on me if I don't like how things are going.

“Be disciplined. I realized that if I didn't get up early to write, there was no other time in the day when it would happen. I could be resentful all I wanted, but it was still in my control.”

At age 10, what did you want to be when you grew up?

An Actress.

What was your first job?

My first unofficial job was taking care of people's animals and/or plants when they were out of town. My first "real" job was as a waitress in a tiny Greek restaurant.

Biggest pastime outside of work

My children.

Three interesting facts about yourself

1. I am a hopeless Bollywood addict.
2. I love to drive while listening to very loud music.
3. I have an awful memory.

Three characteristics that describe you

1. funny
2. honest
3. loyal

Three greatest passions

1. stories
2. children
3. equality

Favorite book

I can't list one absolute favorite. I love almost all of Sherman Alexie's books and House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.

Favorite cause

Equality

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Award Winning Writer Laila Halaby

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