"What's the difference between Arabs in the Middle East and Arab Americans?" and other retarded questions

The panel went really well! Most of the questions afterwards were great, so it isn't entirely fair to title this post in this way, but it's fun.

I spoke about recent Arab American fiction, my own publishing process, and the dearth of Arab American bildungsromans, a lack I hope to remedy soon (How Franzen of me to talk about a problem and offer my work as a solution. Ha!).

Khaled Mattawa and Hayan Charara, two of my favorite guys and Arab American poets, hung out afterwards:


It was wonderful...