Alwan For The Arts Presents

"An Iraqi in Paris"

Book Reading/Signing with Iraqi Writer Samuel Shimon (in Arabic)

Wednesday, May 24, 2006, 7:30 PM

About the book A young Iraqi leaves home to become a Hollywood film-maker, but finds himself jailed, tortured, and thrown out of the first three countries on his voyage, in Syria, in East Beirut and in Jordan. Seeking refuge with the Palestinians in west Beirut, he finds his way to Hollywood barred. Later, living on the streets of Paris as a homeless refugee and writer, he dreams of making a film about his father, the deaf dumb Assyrian baker who loves the young Queen of England possibly starring Robert de Niro. Samuel Shimon's first novel is a riveting tale of innocence and dreams, misery and humor, in which Arabic and Assyrian languages meet Hollywood and the films of John Ford in the streets of Paris and Iraq.

" one of the gems of Arabic autobiographical writings" al-Hayat (London)

"unique in Arabic literature." as-Safir (Beirut)

"A cunningly iconoclastic storyteller...with a keen cinematographic and unflinching eye for detail...a relentless raconteur" Anton Shammas.

"Forgiving and powerful book" Times Literary Supplement

". . . startlingly funny, rude but touching novel-cum-autobiography about days of sex and movies, politics and poverty, on the 1980s Left Bank. It's an Arabic answer to Miller's Tropic of Cancer - occasionally shocking; always witty and humane." The Independent

SAMUEL SHIMON is an Iraqi poet, novelist and journalist. Born into an Assyrian family in Al-Habbaniyah, Iraq in 1956, he left his country in 1979, and has since lived in Damascus, Amman, Beirut, Nicosia, Aden, Cairo, Tunis, and Paris finally residing in London. He began writing autobiographical short stories in 1979 and poetry in 1985, publishing in Arab newspapers and magazine. Since 1998, he has been the assistant editor of Banipal magazine, which he co-founded with its editor Margaret Obank. He is the founder and editor of the most popular Arabic literature website www.kikah.com In 2005, his autobiographical novel An Iraqi in Paris was published in English translation. The Arabic version was published by Dar al-Jamal in Germany. Both have received glowing reviews in the internationalpress.

Last updated: 2007-09-21 08:31:24