Open AccessMai Ghoussoub: A Passion for Expression
Author(s) -
Afaf Shawwa
Publication year - 1970
Publication title -
al-raida
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2226-4841
pISSN - 0259-9953
DOI - 10.32380/alrj.v0i0.139
Subject(s) - passion , publishing , expression (computer science) , media studies , politics , sociology , visual arts , art , law , literature , psychology , political science , social psychology , computer science , programming language
When I first met Mai Ghoussoub in Beirut in the fall of 2004, I could not have guessed from her down-to-earth demeanor that I was sitting with a successful writer, publisher, and artist who had created a name for herself among friends, colleagues, and strangers alike. Nor that she was a founder of the cutting-edge Saqi bookstore and publishing house; writer and advocate of social, cultural, and political issues; and an internationally-exhibited sculptor and installation artist. Since that first meeting, I had the opportunity to learn all this and much more through our work together on her play Texterminators. When Mai passed away on February 17, 2007, it was a major shock to me, as it was for many. Her death made me reflect on her life and spurred me to find out how her colleagues and friends saw her. What I have discovered tells of a woman with an infectious passion for creative expression.