Sara M. Saleh is a writer, a poet, human rights lawyer, organiser, and the daughter of Palestinian, Egyptian, and Lebanese migrants. She joins Mel to talk about two new books she's released this year: Songs for the Dead and the Living (out now through Affirm Press), and her new poetry collection The Flirtation of Girls / Ghazal el-Banat (UQP). They talk about Sara's creative process, her relationships with both herself and her characters, how place and memory are implicated in her writing, and how the role of the artist is to bear witness and to 'name the things that need to be named, and to articulate alternate visions and futurities'.
Finally, she does a reading of her poem 'The Year that Changed Everything', based on the year 1948 which is also known as the year of the Nakba. Nakba means 'catastrophe' in Arabic; and it names the year that Palestinians were dispossesed from their homelands during the establishment of the State of Israel where 750,000 people were exiled, and many killed. For Palestinian people, this catastrophe has never ended and is ongoing today.
About this program
Championing stylish wordsmiths and sterling conversation, Literati Glitterati is a weekly book show that loves a good story, well told.
LITERATI GLITTERATI SALON: A MONTHLY BOOK CLUB
Join Mel and a rotating roster of bookish conversationalists as they unpack Literati Glitterati’s book of the month.
Expect a spiriting assortment of cult classics, forgotten wonders, timeless treasures, zesty new releases and pulp fictions wrestled straight from the zeitgeist by Mel herself.
Each book will be announced a month out from the special, so that you can read along at home. On the last Wednesday of every month, tune into Literati Glitterati from midday till 1pm with your thoughts and feelings ready: we’ll be taking questions through the text line.
Literati Glitterati Salon: a monthly book club for folks who like a good story, well told.
Literati Glitterati Salon returns in March 2025.
