KHAYRALLAH PRIZE 2020
The Khayrallah
Center is
pleased
to
announce
that
the
2020
Khayrallah
Prize
was
awarded
to Dr.
Rula
Jurdi
Abisaab
for
her
novel
Fi 'ulbat
al-Daw' [Camera
Obscura currently
being
translated
by
Maia
Tabet],
and
Mr.
Zayn
Alexander
for
his
film
al-Ghurba [Abroad].
Each
will
receive
a $5000
monetary
award,
for
their
groundbreaking
work.
In
April
the
Khayrallah
Center
will
host
a
virtual
award
ceremony
to
recognize
Rula
and
Zayn
and
present
them
with
their
award.
The Khayrallah Prize is an annual award given by the Moise A. Khayrallah Center for Lebanese Diaspora Studies based at North Carolina State University. In its sixth year now, the Khayrallah Prize identifies, awards and publicly honors those whose original artistic productions and projects focus on any aspect of life in Lebanon, or among Lebanese immigrants, whether in the past or present.
Co-Winner: Rula Jurdi Abisaab
Rula
Jurdi
is
a
Lebanese
poet,
novelist,
and
Professor
of
Islamic
History
at
McGill
University.
She
moved
to
the
US
in
1989,
and
has
lived
in
Canada
since
2004. Her
poems,
written
in
both
Arabic
and
English,
have
appeared
in
multiple
journals.
Her
poem
“Oral”was
shortlisted
for
the
Magpie
Poetry
Award
in
2018.
Her
published
works
include The
Heart’s
Peel
(Ghilaf
al-Qalb,
2013), Like
Layla
or
the
Five
Cities (Ka-Layla
aw
Ka’l-Mudun
al-Khams,
2015),
and
her
first novel,
That
Sense
of
Heaviness (al-Kathafa,
2007). She
is
also
the
co-founder
and
co-editor
of
Mïtra,
an
online
literary
and
artistic
magazine,
which
dedicates
important
space
for
Lebanese
and
Lebanese
diasporic
literature
and
art.
In
announcing
the
winners, Dr.
Akram
Khater,
Director
of
the
Khayrallah
Center,
noted
that
the Khayrallah
Prize selection
committee
was
deeply
impressed
by
the
linguistically
and
narratively
multi-layered
story
Rula
al-Jurdi
tell
across
generations
and
continents
linking
village
with mahjar,
and
interweaving
throughout
the
politics
of
gender,
community
and
empire.
"It
is
truly
a tour
de
force of
storytelling
made
all
the
more
engrossing
by
a
fluid
text
that
flows
effortlessly
across
borders
to
speak
of
transnational
lives
that
are
simultaneously
grounded
in
intensely
intimate
local
moments
captured
by
camera
and
narrator."
Even
more
compellling
is
the
juxtaposition
between
two
types
of
knowing
and
enlightenment
embodied
by
the
novel's
two
women
protagnists.
Sarah,
a
Druze
religious
woman
of
prized
learning
and
wisdom,
teaches
a
humanistic
universalism deeply
rooted
in
the
village
of 'Ayn
Shamas. On
the
other
hand,
Nour
a
younger
and
restless
woman
travels
to
NY
to
study
at
a
university
there,
and
pursue
a
secular
humanism
that
is
enmeshed
in
a
globalized
politics
but
that
appears
at
time
rootless.
Despite
their
markedly
different
paths,
the
novel
intertwines
the
two
lives
and
ways
of
being
with
moving
literary
skill.
I am deeply honored that my novel was selected among outstanding works and recognized for its artistic merits.
Rula Jurdi
Upon receiving news of the award, Dr. Jurdi noted: "Given how scarce literary awards are in connection to Lebanon and the Arab World, the Khayrallah Prize is a rare gift. I am deeply honored that my novel was selected among outstanding works and recognized for its artistic merits. I believe that in awarding me the prize, the judges are choosing to honor the passion and anguish of diasporic Lebanese writers who are making gendered interventions in narratives of self, place, and belonging."
You can watch an inteview with Dr. al-Jurdi here.
Co-Winner: Zayn Alexander
Zayn
Alexander
is
a
Lebanese
actor
and
director
based
in
New
York. Alexander
grew
up
in
Sidon,
a
small
town
outside
of
Beirut,
Lebanon.
He
attended
college
at
the
American
University
of
Beirut,
and
subsequently
moved
to
New
York
City
where
he
received
his
MA
in
Psychology
at
Columbia
University. While
in
New
York,
Alexander
pursued
his
initial
passion
of
performing.
Frustrated
with
the
limitations
facing
actors
of
Middle
Eastern
descent,
Alexander
decided
to
step
behind
the
camera.
In
2018,
Alexander
directed
and
starred
in
the
acclaimed
short
film
Abroad. Alexander’s
directorial
follow-up,
Manara, made
its
world
premiere
during
the
76th
Venice
Film
Festival
in
the
Giornate
degli
Autori
section
(Venice
Days).
Zayn
Alexander's Abroad equally
deeply
impressed with the
power
of
his
short
film
in
capturing
the
intimacy
of
the
Lebanese
immigrant
experience
amidst
a
tangle
of
forces
that
constantly
tug
at
the
lives
of
those
who--by
choice
or
because
of
need--leave
Lebanon.
Through
humor
to
deal
with
racism
and
economic
expediency,
and
painful
poignancy
about
lives
stretched
across
thousands
of
miles,
and
with
an
economy
of
visual
and
spoken
language,
Alexander tells
a
story
that
has
been
replayed
in
one
way
or
another
in
many
immigrant
lives.
Grounded
as
the
film
is
in
a
post-9/11
moment,
it
nonetheless
could
be
speaking
of
anytime
Lebanese
immigrants
(and
others)
leave
a
home
seeking
opportunities
made
all
the
harder
(if
not
impossible)
to
attain
by
stereotypes
and
racism,
and
by
the
constant
pull
of
"home"
and
those
left
behind.
A
veritable
tour
de
force.
I am truly honored to receive this award. It is an even greater honor to be placed in such distinguished ranks as those of the past honorees.
Zayn Alexander
Upon receiving news of the award, Mr. Alexander noted: "I am truly honored to receive this award. It is an even greater honor to be placed in such distinguished ranks as those of the past honorees. My journey away from my home and family for the past ten years has not been an easy one. To be recognized, especially for a film that speaks to that same struggle, is humbling and validating."
You can watch an inteview with Mr. Alexander here.