Editorial: Arab Women Writing in English

As the title indicates, this issue of Al-Raida is informed by the theme of Arab Women Writing in English, presenting essays, short stories, personal reflections, and poetry. Accordingly, the File includes mostly creative writing by Arab women living and working either in or outside the region. In the spirit of many of the contributions, the title should be approached both descriptively and conceptually – as a reference to the identity and work of certain writers, and as variable terms that are creatively and critically explored in respect to the signifying residues and capacities they historically imply, carry, and structure. This is to say that almost none of the following pieces takes for granted or leaves unexamined Arab, English, Writing, and Woman, but rather explore how these terms involve specific contexts implicating certain objectifying/subjectifying constraints and limitations, as well as productive sites engaging acts of resistance, counter definitions, alternative stories, and narratives