List of Arab-American writers

This is a list of Arab-American writers.

## Arab-American poets

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* George Abraham (poet), of Palestinian descent
* Elia Abu Madi (1890–1957), Lebanese poet
* Etel Adnan (1925–2021), poet, essayist, and visual artist; Lebanese Albanian descent
* Joseph Awad (1929–2009), poet, painter, and worked in public relations;[1] of Lebanese and Irish descent.
* Ibtisam Barakat (born 1963), bilingual author, poet, artist, translator, and educator; Palestinian descent.
* Sharif Elmusa, poet and editor[1][2][3]
* Suheir Hammad (born 1973), poet, author, actress, performer, and political activist; of Palestinian descent
* Sam Hamod (1936–2021) poet, professor; of Lebanese descent[1][4]
* Samuel John Hazo (born 1928), poet, playwright, fiction novelist, professor; of Assyrian and Lebanese descent[1]
* Lawrence Joseph (born 1948), poet, writer, essayist, critic, lawyer, and professor of law; of Syrian and Lebanese descent
* Lisa Suhair Majaj (born 1960), poet and scholar.
* Jack Marshall (born 1936), poet and author; of Iraqi and Syrian descent
* Farid Matuk, poet; of Syrian descent[5]
* Khaled Mattawa (born 1964), poet; of Libyan descent
* Jess Rizkallah [Wikidata], poet, writer, illustrator; of Lebanese descent
* Matthew Shenoda (born 1977), poet; of Egyptian descent [6]
* Hedy Habra, poet, professor, fiction writer, literary critic and essayist; of Egyptian and Lebanese descent.

## Arab-American fiction writers

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* Chelsea Abdullah (fl. 2022), Kuwait-born fantasy writer, author of the Sandsea Trilogy
* Elmaz Abinader (born 1954), author, playwright and activist; of Lebanese descent; PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Literary Award recipient[1]
* Susan Abulhawa (born 1970), fiction and nonfiction writer, author of Mornings in Jenin; of Palestinian descent
* Saladin Ahmed (born 1975), science fiction, comic book and fantasy author; of Lebanese, Egyptian, Irish, and Polish descent
* Dima Alzayat, fiction writer, author of Alligator and Other Stories; of Syrian descent
* William Peter Blatty (1928–2017), screenplay writer and novelist; of Lebanese descent
* Vance Bourjaily (1922–2010), novelist, playwright, journalist, creative writing teacher, and essayist
* Catherine Filloux, playwright; of Algerian and French descent
* Khalil Gibran (1883–1931), writer, poet and visual artist; of Lebanese descent
* Ray Hanania, columnist, stand-up comedian, reporter, editor, public relations firm owner; former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977 to 1992); of Palestinian descent
* Randa Jarrar (born 1978) writer, novelist, essayist, and Arabic-English translator; of Egyptian and Palestinian descent
* Zeyn Joukhadar, trans writer and former biomedical researcher; of Syrian descent
* Mohja Kahf (born 1967), is a poet, novelist, and professor; of Syrian descent
* Ismail Khalidi (born 1982), playwright, screenwriter and theater director; of Palestinian descent
* Laila Lalami (born 1968), novelist and essayist; of Moroccan descent
* Hisham Matar (born 1970), novelist, essayist, memoirist, and writer; of British and Libyan descent
* Claire Messud (born 1966), novelist and literature and creative writing professor; of Canadian and Algerian descent
* Susan Muaddi Darraj, essayist, writer; of Palestinian descent
* Mikha'il Na'ima (also known as Mikhail Naimy; 1889–1988), poet, novelist, and philosopher; Lebanese[1]
* Naomi Shihab Nye (born 1952), poet, songwriter, and novelist; of Palestinian descent.[1]
* Mahmoud Saeed (born 1939), novelist, essayist
* Mona Simpson (born 1957), novelist
* Adam al-Sirgany (born 1989), editor and short story writer; of Egyptian descent [7]
* Thérèse Soukar Chehade, novelist; of Lebanese descent.

## Arab-American nonfiction writers and journalists

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* Diana Abu-Jaber, food history, of Jordanian and Palestinian descent
* Hakim Almasmari, journalist, publisher, editor; of Yemeni descent
* Moustafa Bayoumi (born 1958), history writer, academic; of Egyptian descent
* Chawky Frenn, painter, professor, writer of books on artists
* Afifa Karam (1883–1924), journalist, novelist, and translator; of Lebanese descent
* Rashid Khalidi (born 1948), historian of the Middle East; of Palestinian descent
* Daoud Kuttab (born 1955), journalist; Palestinian
* Saree Makdisi (born 1964), literary critic; of Palestinian and Lebanese descent
* Eugene Paul Nassar (1935–2017), editor, professor, and literary critic; of Lebanese descent
* Gregory Orfalea (born 1949), essayist, historian and poet; of Syrian and Lebanese descent[1]
* Amin al-Rihani (Ameen Rihani; 1876–1940) writer, intellectual and political activist; part of the mahjar literary movement; of Lebanese descent.[1]
* Abraham Mitrie Rihbany (1869–1944), theologian, philologist and historian; of Lebanese descent
* Salom Rizk (1908–1973), author, best known for his 1943 immigration-themed autobiography; of Lebanese descent
* Edward Said (1935–2003), writer, professor of literature, a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies; of Palestinian descent
* Steven Salaita (born 1975), academic writer, and historian; of Jordanian and Palestinian descent
* Anthony Shadid (1968–2021), foreign news correspondent; of Lebanese descent.
* Evelyn Shakir (1938–2010), literary scholar; a pioneer in the study of Arab American literature; of Lebanese descent.

## See also

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* Literature portal

* Arab American Book Award
* Before Columbus Foundation
* Kawkab America
* The Society for the Study of the Multi-Ethnic Literature of the United States

## References

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1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Simarski, Lynn Teo (July 1990). "Saudi Aramco World : Poetry in the Blood". Saudi Aramco World.
2. ^ "Sharif S. Elmusa | Egypt Independent". Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
3. ^ Sharif S. Elmusa: Poet and environmental scholar. Actually, Palestinian Israeli, or Israeli Palestinian, or Palestinian Arab
4. ^ Hamod, David (June 30, 2021). "A Beloved Arab American Poet Passes: Celebrating the Life of Dr. Hamode". Arab America. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
5. ^ "Farid Matuk". United States Artists. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
6. ^ "Matthew Shenoda". Lannan. Retrieved April 22, 2025.
7. ^ "Adam al-Sirgany". Whisk(e)y Tit. Retrieved April 22, 2025.

## Bibliography

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Grape Leaves: A Century of Arab-American Poetry, edited by Gregory Orfalea and Sharif Elmusa, 1988, University of Utah Press.
*[fl.]: floruit ('flourished' – known to have been active at a particular time or during a particular period)