'Maya Angelou Of Iraq' Coming To Camden County College

GLOUCESTER TOWNSHIP, NJ — The woman regarded as the “Maya Angelou of Iraq” is coming to Camden County College.

On Nov. 20, MAD LIT (the Madison Literary Society of Camden County College) will host An Evening of Poetry and Memory with Faleeha Hassan in Civic Hall on the Blackwood Campus, 6:30 p.m.

Hassan emigrated to the United States from Iraq in 2012 after having fled Iraq for Turkey when her writings landed her name on a “death list.” She now lives in Washington Township, Gloucester County, with her two children.

She once claimed she could not speak of peace because she had never experienced it; now, Hassan appreciates her newfound suburban tranquility more than her neighbors could ever guess.

“We consider ourselves very privileged to welcome someone so widely known and highly regarded a talent to the college,” MAD LIT advisor and CCC Professor of English Keith O’Shaughnessy said. “Her work has been celebrated the world over for its vivid testaments both to strife in her native Iraq and the challenges of immigrant life in our own land. Better still, she recites it with an almost mystical grace, force, and poise.”

Refreshments will be served at 6:30 p.m. with the reading and discussion to follow. This event is free to the public.

Image via YouTube.