Episode 13: Khaled Mattawa
In this episode Khaled Mattawa talks to Matthew Stiffler about his newest collection of poetry, Fugitive Atlas (2020), his history as a leading figure in the development of Arab American literature, and his arts work in Libya.
About Khaled Mattawa:
Khaled Mattawa was born and raised in Benghazi, Libya, and relocated to the United States as a teenager in 1979. He earned a BA in political science and economics from the University of Tennessee, an MA and an MFA from Indiana University, and a Ph.D. from Duke University. He is the editor of Michigan Quarterly Review and currently teaches at the University of Michigan.
Mattawa’s poetry frequently explores the intersection of culture, narrative, and memory. Mattawa has been awarded several Pushcart Prizes and the PEN Award for Literary Translation, in addition to a translation grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, a Guggenheim Foundation fellowship, and a MacArthur fellowship. Mattawa has published several collections of poetry, the latest being Fugitive Atlas. In addition to writing his own work, he has left lasting contributions to the field through his translation and his work editing and co-editing anthologies of Arab American writing.
