About the Author

Sahar Khalifeh was born in the West Bank city of Nablus in 1941 and is the author of six novels. A former Fulbright scholar, she holds a B.A. from Bir Zeit University, and a Ph.D. in women's studies and American literature from the University of Iowa. She divides her time between Amman and Nablus. Aida Bamia is professor of Arabic language and literature at the University of Florida in Gainesville. She is the editor of Al-'Arabiyya, the journal of the American Association of Teachers of Arabic, and the author of The Graying of the Raven: Cultural and Sociopolitical Significance of Algerian Folk Poetry (AUC Press 2001).