Laila Halaby

Laila Halaby was born in Beirut, Lebanon, to a Jordanian father and an American mother. She is the author of two novels, West of the Jordan (winner of a PEN Beyond Margins Award) and Once in a Promised Land. She lives in Tucson, Arizona. Her second collection of poetry, due out April 2022 from 2Leaf Press, why an author writes to a guy holding a fish [sic], is a story in verse chronicling the misadventures of a recently divorced woman dating in America.

1 May, 2023 • Laila Halaby

Buck Up, It’s Only Racism at the Office

In which an Arab woman in a diverse work environment finds that going along to get along with a racist colleague is just too much.

18 April, 2022 • Laila Halaby

Joumana Haddad’s “The Book of Queens”: a Review

Laila Halaby on the new novel from Lebanon's multilingual feminist poet and powerhouse.

15 February, 2022 • Laila Halaby

L.A. Story: Poems from Laila Halaby

Poet and novelist Laila Halaby writes her Los Angeles experience in a cascade of words that indelibly capture moments and memories.

15 October, 2020 • Laila Halaby

Dear Neighbors With the Trump/Pence Sign

Novelist and poet Laila Halaby reconciles herself with the neighborhood.