Randa Jarrar

Randa Jarrar is the author of the critically acclaimed novel A Map of Home. Her work has appeared in Ploughshares, Five Chapters, The Oxford American, The New York Times Magazine, The Utne Reader, Salon.com, and elsewhere.


Articles by Randa Jarrar

Tuesday May 3

The PEN Ten with Trish Salah

“Censorship is inevitable, part of psychic life and engaging with other people. The censorship of political speech is deplorable and to be resisted, but also is often not recognized as such. One form it commonly takes is speaking on behalf of others that one claims cannot speak for themselves.”

Tuesday March 22

The PEN Ten with Saleem Haddad

“When I write in English, I try to make sure that my writing holds a mirror up to the West as much as it does to the Arab world. To do otherwise would be a failure of morality.”

Tuesday February 16

The PEN Ten with Hayan Charara

“When it comes to the censorship of Arab or Muslim lives, the ‘unacceptable parts’ are usually not of books or movies but of entire realities.”