If You Want to Put Conditions on Your Writing, You are Not a Writer

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Aamer Hussein (a writer living in London) for transcribing Hanan al-Shaykh's answers, and Professor Shahla Ghauri (my supervisor) for her guidance and encouragement.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ The article appeared in the print edition of The Independent and Said retold this observation about al-Shykh to Maya Jaggi which is quoted in Jaggi’s article on Hanan al-Shykh titled “Conflicts Unveiled,” published in The Guardian, July 7, 2001.

² Nawal el-Saadawi (October 27, 1931-March 21, 2021) was an Egyptian writer and psychiatrist. She was founder and president of the Arab Women’s Solidarity Association.

³ Timothy Supple (born September 24, 1962) is a British born, award-winning international theater director. He launched Supple Productions in 2020.

⁴ Ghassan Kanafani (1936–1972) was a Palestinian author and a leading member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). He was assassinated by Mossad as a response to the Lod airport massacre.