Ibtisam Barakat

Palestine/United States

Ibtisam Barakat is an award-winning, Palestinian-American author, poet, translator, artist and educator, based in the United States. She publishes in both English and Arabic— her memoir, Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood (2007), received considerable critical acclaim and has been translated into several languages. Her poems, essays and short stories have appeared in magazines including World Literature Today, The Nation, Wasafiri and the Washington Post. The Lilac Girl is her sixth book for younger readers.

About The Book

Al-Fatah Al-Laylakeyyah (The Lilac Girl), published by Tamer Institute for Community Education (Palestine) in 2019. The beautifully illustrated story is about a young Palestinian girl who loves to paint but who has lost her home due to war. Through recreating her house in a rainbow of watercolours she finds freedom in the world of her imagination and creates beauty from pain.

Published: 2019