The Mullica Hill Library will have a special guest speaker on Jan. 4, when Faleeha Hassan will discuss her memoir, “War and Me.”
The book – recently chosen as a pick for the library’s book club – focuses on Hassan’s youth in Iraq amidst that country’s conflicts and violence.
The author, poet, playwright and teacher has been dubbed the Maya Angelou of Iraq by Oprah Winfrey, according to the library’s Adult Services Librarian Debbie Drachman. She lives in Mullica Hill, where she grew up after coming to the states as a refugee.
“She will come to the library to read excerpts of her memoir, ‘War and Me,’ and talk about her background and upbringing during the Iraq-Iran war and the war with Kuwait,” Drachman explained. “She has never been to our library before.”
Hassan began her writing career in Iraq and has earned many accolades over her 30-year career as an author, including being the first woman in her hometown of Najaf, Iraq, to publish a book of poetry, a work she called “I am a Girl,” in 1991.
Hassan was also the first woman in Iraq to publish a poetry book for children – “A Dream Guard” – in 2012, a work that was a big deal in her native country, where women’s rights are severely restricted. But she was forced to flee Iraq 2011, after her name appeared on a militant group’s death list published in a number of newspapers and websites, according to her personal essay, “Empty Mirror.”
Hassan first relocated to Turkey and lived there a little over a year before she and her children were accepted into the U.S. by a Catholic charity based out of Camden.
“Attendees should expect a fascinating perspective of a woman who is educated from a country where most females do not have access to a public education,” Drachman noted of Hassan’s appearance. “They will also hear about her poetry and other writings. Lastly, they will hear about her struggles of escaping to the U.S. and share what it is like to be a refugee in a foreign country.
“This is a one-time event for her.”
Hassan’s free library talk will begin at 6:30 p.m. and is free, but attendees need to fill out a registration form the day before the event at the Gloucester County Library System website.
