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MFA Period Fall 2018 - 2020

Because Columbia University's MFA in Creative Writing was not authenticated by the Kuwaiti government (this is now a two-year ongoing process), and since nobody wanted to support what they stereotypically defined as an "Arab from a rich country" seeking "a frivolous degree in the arts," I spent my whole life savings (10 years worth of a full-time salary working at Kuwait University's Faculty of Arts, in addition to side gigs, such as poetry readings, creative writing workshops, teaching English as a Second Language, editing, translating, and freelance writing among other jobs) to pay for the first year of the program. I then borrowed money for the second year.

For me, giving back is a way of life, so whether it's from my hard-earned or borrowed money, charity will continue to play a role in my creative process. Below are some of my charitable contributions and volunteer work during 2018-2020.

VOLUNTEER WORK

• Volunteered weekly at the Kabbalah Center's Bookstore: 155 E. 48th Street, New York, New York 10017, US
• Took part in Operation Backpack, which shared 20,000 backpacks with homeless children in NYC.

 CHARITABLE DONATIONS

• Hazine
  
• Solidarity for the Unhoused in New Orleans
  
• Help Tara Betts Buy a Community Arts Space
• Action Bail Fund - Alliance for Global Justice
• International Medical Corps
• Save the Children
• Planned Parenthood
• ACLU
• Tree of Life Synagogue Victims
• Kabbalah Center

Because I was in NY from 2018 to 2020, I focused on giving back to the community in which I lived, but I also prefer to maintain ties and links with the community that raised me. So in addition to the charitable donations above, I also regularly supported:

• "Takaful" helping prisoners in Kuwait (via Kuwait Finance House)
• DirectAid
• KareQ8

Finally, this year I vowed to support artists and art institutions as well as activists and non-profit organizations. Through Patreon, I'm supporting:

• ArabLit Quarterly - for the indispensable work to document and highlight Arab literature. You can peruse the journal for free here.
  
• Thom Donovan (Left Melancholic) - for his beautiful and intelligent writing. Here you will find some of his writing that you can explore for free.
  
• Mona Eltahawy - for although I disagree that anger should be viewed as fuel or destination, as I consider anger a signal that needs decoding, I agree with Eltahawy's mission statement that patriarchy needs to be dismantled not only theorized. In addition, I highly recommend the weekly book reviews and insight into her upcoming projects. Eltahawy is active on Twitter, follow her to get a taste of her content.
• Jenn and Jess (The White Tower Podcast) -- a podcast on Robert Jordan's epic fantasy: The Wheel of Time. I love Jordan's fantasy, and the girls' take on events is lively, engaging, and genuine. I cannot recommend this podcast enough. Here you can listen to all the episodes for free.