A journalist and author of numerous non-fiction books on the Middle East, Malu Halasa has just published her first novel, Mother of All Pigs. Born in Oklahoma, her Jordanian Filipina heritage gave her a unique perspective from the beginning. After growing up in Ohio, she attended Barnard College in New York and now lives in London. From this vantage point, she's taken on the fascinating world of the Middle East and has worked hard to expand the number of voices heard from that area. Throughout the conversation we explore the tricky thing that is "American Literature." When she first began working on this novel in the 90s, Malu didn't expect to publish it because there didn't appear to be a market in the states for Middle Eastern narrative. People were willing to read non-fiction, but not a novel. As she looked on bookshelves she wondered "where is my family story?" Luckily for us, she wrote it herself. It is my hope that more people do the same. If a story is missing from the shelves, it doesn't mean it shouldn't be included. We need to challenge the publishing status quo by supporting fiction that expands our boundaries and helps us learn. I hope you are inspired by listening to this episode to think about what story you have to tell that isn't currently getting heard. I can't imagine how many stories we aren't reading that need to be read. If you have a story like this, listen to this episode and then write your story. We want to hear your story, too.
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#81 Malu Halasa on redefining American Fiction