The University of Iowa IWP Between the Lines Program presents: Identity & Belonging, Three Readings with José Olivarez and Mansoura Ez-Eldin

José Olivarez is the son of Mexican immigrants, and the author of two collections of poems, including, most recently, Promises of Gold—which was long listed for the 2023 National Book Awards. His debut book of poems, Citizen Illegal, was a finalist for the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award and a winner of the 2018 Chicago Review of Books Poetry Prize. Along with Felicia Rose Chavez and Willie Perdomo, he co-edited the poetry anthology, The BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4: LatiNEXT. Alongside Antonio Salazar, he published the hybrid book, Por Siempre in 2023.

Mansoura Ez-Eldin (fiction; nonfiction, editor; Egypt) is an award-winning author of 10 books. Her book “Walks in Shanghai” received the Ibn Battuta Prize for travel literature 2021, her novel “Emerald Mountain” received the award of the best Arabic novel in 2014 from Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF). The Serbian edition of her novel “Shadow Specters” was shortlisted for the Miloš Đurić Prize for literary translation issued by the Serbian Association of literary translators, and the French edition of her novel “The Orchards of Basra” was shortlisted for Le Prix de la Littérature Arabe 2023. Her short story collection “A haven for the absence” was shortlisted for the prestigious Al- Multaqa Prize for Arabic short story 2018 and Sheikh Zayed Award for literature 2020.