Ahdaf Soueif to hold 2011 Edward Said Memorial Lecture at Columbia University
Renowned novelist and political and cultural commentator will comment upon the ongoing popular revolution in Egypt
New York, February 28, 2011 – The prestigious Edward Said Memorial Lecture at Columbia University will be held this year by the eminent woman of letters Ahdaf Soueif on March 28.
Born in Cairo and educated in Egypt and the UK, Soueif was present in person throughout much of the exciting developments on Cairo’s Tahrir Square and will share her “Notes from the Egyptian Revolution”.
While she is perhaps best known to a wider audience through her second novel The Map of Love (1999) which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, translated into 20 languages and sold over 1 million copies world-wide, she often engages with Palestinian themes in both her literary and her non-fiction work.
In 2008, she initiated PalFest (Palestine Festival of Literature), an annual event that aims to bring a cultural festival of international standard to audiences in Palestine to assert "the power of culture over the culture of power." The Festival travels throughout Palestine, staging events in several cities.
This event is free and open to the public. No tickets or registration necessary. Seating is on a first come, first served basis.
Tuesday 8 March 2011, 8:30pm
Altschul Auditorium, 417 International Affairs Building, Columbia University, New York
www.columbia.edu/about_columbia/map/international_affairs.html
