Chimene Suleyman

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Chimene or Chimène[1] Suleyman is a writer from London of Northern Cypriot descent, living in New York. She has written and spoken on the politics of race and immigration in media including The Guardian, The Independent, the BBC and NPR, and co-edited The Good Immigrant USA in 2019.[2][3][4]

Personal life[]

Suleyman was born in London, but her father's family are from Northern Cyprus. She has written about her grandfather's death in 1964, when he was tortured and killed by soldiers, and his body, with a dozen others, seen in a much-reproduced photograph.[5]

Literary career[]

Along with Dylan Sage, Suleyman created the monthly spoken word event "Kid, I Wrote Back" in London which ran from 2010 until at least 2013.[6]

In 2014, Laura Bates chose Suleyman's poetry collection Outside Looking On[1] as one of her "best books" of the year, saying that it "presents startlingly perceptive snapshots of human experience, delving powerfully into themes that range from big-city loneliness and longing, to prejudice and love".[7][8]

Suleyman contributed to the 2017 book The Good Immigrant, and contributed to and co-edited its 2019 sequel, The Good Immigrant USA.[9]

In 2021, Suleyman, Monisha Rajesh and professor Sunny Singh criticised aspects of Kate Clanchy's Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me and the response to their criticism.[10][11] Suleyman said: "Despite being accomplished writers and teachers on structural racism and colonialism, Professor Sunny Singh, author Monisha Rajesh, and myself became invisible to authors who endorsed this book, speaking only with white authors, whilst simultaneously expressing denigrating racially charged views of us."[12]

Selected publications[]

  • Suleyman, Chimene (2014). Outside Looking On. London: Influx. ISBN 9780992765552.
  • Suleyman, Chimene (2017). "My Name is My Name". In Shukla, Nikesh (ed.). The Good Immigrant. London: Unbound. ISBN 9781783522965.
  • Suleyman, Chimene (2019). "On Being Kim Kardashian". In Shukla, Nikesh; Suleyman, Chimene (eds.). The Good Immigrant USA: 26 writers reflect on America. London. ISBN 9780349700366.

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Outside Looking On". Influx Press. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Chimene Suleyman". The Face. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  3. ^ "Chimene Suleyman". The Independent. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Chimene Suleyman". National Book Foundation. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  5. ^ Suleyman, Chimene (21 August 2014). "No Longer An Allegory Of War: A Personal Reflection On Images & Conflict". The Quietus. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  6. ^ "Review: 'Kid, I Wrote Back' Spoken Word Night". Tribe Nine Studios. 14 February 2013. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  7. ^ "Writers pick the best books of 2014: part one". The Guardian. 29 November 2014. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  8. ^ Whalley, Charles (13 November 2014). "Outside Looking On by Chimène Suleyman". Sabotage. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  9. ^ Khong, Rachel (20 March 2019). "The Good Immigrant USA review – 'our joy is as valuable as our suffering'". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  10. ^ Wood, Heloise (11 August 2021). "Book industry figures condemn abuse of Clanchy critics in open letter". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  11. ^ Rajesh, Monisha (13 August 2021). "Pointing out racism in books is not an 'attack' – it's a call for industry reform". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  12. ^ Campbell, Lucy (10 August 2021). "Kate Clanchy to rewrite memoir amid criticism of 'racist and ableist tropes'". The Guardian. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
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