Women of Middle Eastern and North African (MENA)* origin have not historically been visible in Australia’s literary industry. Whether this has been primarily due to systemic biases or lack of access opportunities, it is finally starting to change, as a new wave of MENA women are winning and shortlisting for major literary prizes and becoming bestsellers across the nation’s bookstores.
Her focused attention on the cultural and geographical dividers between us may be due to her diasporic origins. Kassab has a keen perceptiveness around human encounters. Human connection transcending culture and geography is a perceptible theme in the works of hybrid MENA/Australian authors, owing perhaps to their hyphenated experiences of being Australian-And. A feeling of both singularity and belonging is palpable in their works.
