Bio: Ibtisam Barakat ابتسام بركات
See the the latest author chalk board note here
Watch the most recent video (English presentation) here
Listen to the most recent reading ( in Arabic) استمع(ي) إلى أحدث قراءة بالعربي هنا
See the latest cartoon here شاهد (ي) احدث كاريكاتير هنا
Author and poet Ibtisam Barakat, photo by: Steve Fisch, Fairfax, California.
* For Arabic version of Bio click here. السيرة باللغة العربية انقر(ي) هنا
* For "Ta Book" Website Click Here. للذهاب الى موقع كتاب التاء المربوطة انقر(ي) هنا
Acclaimed Palestinian-American author, spoken-word poet, translator, artist and educator Ibtisam Barakat (pronunciation) grew up in Ramallah, Palestine, and came to the US for an internship at The Nation magazine in New York City. She holds two Masters degrees, in journalism and in human development, from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She taught language ethics at Stephens College and is the founder of Write Your life Seminars to help people from various backgrounds contribute to writing history by sharing their voices and personal narratives.
Ibtisam Barakat's memoir, TASTING THE SKY: A Palestinian Childhood (FSG, 2007) won more than 20 awards and honors, including the International Reading Association's Best Non-Fiction for Young Adults; Middle East Council Best Literature Book; and Arab-American National Best Book for YA and Children. Tasting the Sky is also an IRA Book for a Global Society, an IRA Teachers Choice Book, Cybils Non-Fiction Book Winner, and an American Library Association notable book. Currently it is available in six languages.
Though Tasting the Sky is designated as a book for the teen age, it is also a book for all ages. In his review of Tasting the Sky, Public Radio International's literary critic of The World, Poet Christopher Merrill, notes that Tasting the Sky is "accessible to readers from seven to seventy-seven and beyond."
Working in both English and Arabic, and with young people as well as grown ups, Ibtisam has spoken to audiences nationally and internationally, in venues such as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, DC); the New York Public Library; Al Maadi Public Library (Egypt); Dartmouth College; Williams College, the Cambridge Public Library; the JCC of San Francisco, Al-Najah University, Birzeit University, Bethlehem University, and the Missouri Theater. She led Write Your Life workshops, and conducted author residencies in a large number of schools and learning communities such as Irma Rangel Young Women Academy (TX); The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts NOCCA (LA); Arab Educational Forum, Agdir Fourth Hakaya Festival, Morocco, The American Schools in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Oman; Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture (PA), Creativity for Peace camp, and the Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California.
Ibtisam represented Palestine in the World Poetry Conference in Venezuela, 2009; was the poet of Women Speak International Gathering 2010, and was a delegate to the 3rd UN conference on ending Racism in South Africa. She is one of the 15 international authors who contributed to Amnesty International's Young Adult Anthology, FREE?, celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In 2010, Ibtisam was one of the judges for the National Arab-American Book Award 2010. She was also one of the judges in the national finals of Poetry Out Loud, the poetry recitation contest for all of high schools in the US and the Islands, run by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. About 235 thousand students participated in Poetry Out Loud in 2010. Ibtisam will serve as a judge in the nationals of Poetry Out Loud in 2011 also.
Ibtisam's new book, an illustrated-poem-story for young readers (12 and up) in Arabic, Al-Ta' Al-Marbouta Tateer, won the Anna Lindh Foundation Book Award, READ HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE for Arabic Literature for Young Readers, 2011, and therefore will be distributed to five countries in the Middle East. Listen to a radio interview about the Ta book, and a reading of a passage here.) And click here for the website for the book, in Arabic. The book, which can also be an enchanting read for grown-ups, engages the ancient and rich sensibility of the Arabic language and its unique characteristics to tell a completely-new and a highly imaginative story about a letter of the Arabic alphabet, Al-Ta' Al-Marbouta, who refuses to do what it is supposed to do in a word! You can reach Ibtisam through the contact page.
Thank you for your interest in Ibtisam Barakat's cross-cultural voice. I hope that you too are finding creative and enriching expressions for your own voice. All voices are needed for the song of life to move us all.
Bio Update: February 2012
* For "Ta Book" Website Click Here. للذهاب الى موقع كتاب التاء المربوطة انقر(ي) هنا
Acclaimed Palestinian-American author, spoken-word poet, translator, artist and educator Ibtisam Barakat (pronunciation) grew up in Ramallah, Palestine, and came to the US for an internship at The Nation magazine in New York City. She holds two Masters degrees, in journalism and in human development, from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She taught language ethics at Stephens College and is the founder of Write Your life Seminars to help people from various backgrounds contribute to writing history by sharing their voices and personal narratives.
Ibtisam Barakat's memoir, TASTING THE SKY: A Palestinian Childhood (FSG, 2007) won more than 20 awards and honors, including the International Reading Association's Best Non-Fiction for Young Adults; Middle East Council Best Literature Book; and Arab-American National Best Book for YA and Children. Tasting the Sky is also an IRA Book for a Global Society, an IRA Teachers Choice Book, Cybils Non-Fiction Book Winner, and an American Library Association notable book. Currently it is available in six languages.
Though Tasting the Sky is designated as a book for the teen age, it is also a book for all ages. In his review of Tasting the Sky, Public Radio International's literary critic of The World, Poet Christopher Merrill, notes that Tasting the Sky is "accessible to readers from seven to seventy-seven and beyond."
Working in both English and Arabic, and with young people as well as grown ups, Ibtisam has spoken to audiences nationally and internationally, in venues such as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington, DC); the New York Public Library; Al Maadi Public Library (Egypt); Dartmouth College; Williams College, the Cambridge Public Library; the JCC of San Francisco, Al-Najah University, Birzeit University, Bethlehem University, and the Missouri Theater. She led Write Your Life workshops, and conducted author residencies in a large number of schools and learning communities such as Irma Rangel Young Women Academy (TX); The New Orleans Center for Creative Arts NOCCA (LA); Arab Educational Forum, Agdir Fourth Hakaya Festival, Morocco, The American Schools in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Oman; Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture (PA), Creativity for Peace camp, and the Esalen Institute, Big Sur, California.
Ibtisam represented Palestine in the World Poetry Conference in Venezuela, 2009; was the poet of Women Speak International Gathering 2010, and was a delegate to the 3rd UN conference on ending Racism in South Africa. She is one of the 15 international authors who contributed to Amnesty International's Young Adult Anthology, FREE?, celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In 2010, Ibtisam was one of the judges for the National Arab-American Book Award 2010. She was also one of the judges in the national finals of Poetry Out Loud, the poetry recitation contest for all of high schools in the US and the Islands, run by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation. About 235 thousand students participated in Poetry Out Loud in 2010. Ibtisam will serve as a judge in the nationals of Poetry Out Loud in 2011 also.
Ibtisam's new book, an illustrated-poem-story for young readers (12 and up) in Arabic, Al-Ta' Al-Marbouta Tateer, won the Anna Lindh Foundation Book Award, READ HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE for Arabic Literature for Young Readers, 2011, and therefore will be distributed to five countries in the Middle East. Listen to a radio interview about the Ta book, and a reading of a passage here.) And click here for the website for the book, in Arabic. The book, which can also be an enchanting read for grown-ups, engages the ancient and rich sensibility of the Arabic language and its unique characteristics to tell a completely-new and a highly imaginative story about a letter of the Arabic alphabet, Al-Ta' Al-Marbouta, who refuses to do what it is supposed to do in a word! You can reach Ibtisam through the contact page.
Thank you for your interest in Ibtisam Barakat's cross-cultural voice. I hope that you too are finding creative and enriching expressions for your own voice. All voices are needed for the song of life to move us all.
Bio Update: February 2012
