3 Quotes & Sayings By Joumana Haddad

Born and raised in Lebanon, Joumana Haddad comes from a family of Lebanese poets and writers. Her father is a prominent writer, broadcaster, and editor. With two brothers, she began her career in the field of journalism at age 17. She has worked in many countries around the world Read more

She was awarded the Swedish National Book Prize for Fiction in 2005 for her novel The Distant Land of My Mother's Love. This earned her the Literature Prize in Sweden in the same year. Her novel The Distant Land of My Mother's Love was also short-listed for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

1
Don't be afraid of books, even the most dissident, seemingly 'immoral' ones. Culture is a sure bet in life, whether high, low, eclectic, pop, ancient or modern. And I am convinced that reading is one of the most important tools of liberation that any human being, and a contemporary Arab woman in particular, can exploit. I am not saying it is the ONLY tool, especially with all the new alternative - more visual, interactive and hasty - ways of knowledge, learning and growth. But how could I not be convinced of literature's power, when it has been my original emancipator? . Joumana Haddad
2
As for the errors I make, the only punishment I acknowledge for having made them is my awareness of those errors, and having to live with it: there is, there should be, no heavier penalty on a person's soul, mind and heart. Joumana Haddad