Mohammed Hasan Alwan: A Talk and Q&A

Event time: 
Wednesday, October 4, 2017 - 6:00pm to 7:00pm
Location: 
Linsly-Chittenden Hall (LC ), 317 See map
63 High Street
New Haven, CT 06511
Event description: 

Saudi Novelist Dr. Mohammed Hasan Alwan will be speaking about his new novel, “A Small Death,” the fictionalized story of the real-life Sufi philosopher and traveler Ibn Arabi. “A Small Death” is the 2017 recipient of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, the most prestigious literary prize in the Arab world. Following Dr. Alwan’s talk, John Crowley of the English faculty will join Dr. Alwan for a discussion after his talk, and moderate a brief Q&A. A reception will follow. Please take this opportunity to meet and hear a remarkable writer.

Dr. Mohammed Hasan Alwan is a Saudi novelist and the 2017 recipient of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF), the most prestigious literary prize in the Arab world. The author of five novels (Saqf Elkefaya (2002), Sophia (2004), Touq Altahara (2007), The Beaver (2001) and A Small Death (2016)), Dr. Alwan has also written numerous short stories which have been published in both Arabic and English. In 2009 he was named one of the top 39 Arab authors 39 and under, and his work was published in Beirut39: New Writing from the Arab World. He was also published in the IPAF Anthology ‘Emerging Arab Voices,’ a result of IPAF’s first writer’s workshop. In 2013 he was shortlisted for the IPAF for his novel The Beaver, the story of a man who travels from Riyadh to Portland, Oregon, exploring his family’s past. In 2015 a French translation of the same novel won the Arab World Institute’s Prix de la Litterature Arabe. Dr. Alwan holds a BA in Computer Information Systems from King Saud University and, an MBA from the University of Portland, Oregon and a PhD from Carleton University. He currently lives between Toronto and Riyadh.

203-432-2233