Interview with Sahar Mustafah

April is Arab American Heritage month, so I'm excited we were able to interview a Palestinian-American author this month-- especially since that author is the lovely Sahar Mustafah, author of the short story collection, Code of the West and the novel The Beauty of Your Face. She won the Robert DeMott Prize for Short Prose, Willow Books Grand Prize, and was a finalist for the 2021 Palestine Book Award. I met Sahar in the graduate program at Columbia College, where she was a Follet Graduate Scholar, and I have always admired the crispness of her prose and the depth of her characters. 

I’m so happy she was able to talk to us.

Did you ever go through a period of doubt, thinking this book wouldn’t see the light of day?

My greatest doubts manifested from early responses from agents concerning the manuscript. After requests for a full manuscript reading, I was hearing a disturbing refrain: drop the white shooter story-frame so that it can be packaged as "an immigrant story." So much was problematic about this suggestion! For all practical purposes, my protagonist is not an immigrant—she is 2nd-generation Palestinian American, thus an immediate (deliberate) misreading. I was being asked to omit a critical narrative so that my book would be palatable for white audiences. My normal “writerly” doubts about whether or not the book was any damn good based on literary merit were overshadowed by this very reductive, politicized view of my work. It really spoke to the narrow space the publishing industry has permitted for stories from Arab and Muslim American communities. 

Luckily, an agency loved it without reservation and later on as we were preparing to send it to publishing houses, I had important, constructive editorial conversations that made sense to me and didn’t feel like I’d sacrificed my vision or sold my soul. 

Do you have any tricks or tips for staying motivated? 

For me, joy is crucial in the process of writing. That doesn’t mean it will be without challenges. But if I’ve lost motivation, I take a pause and try to critically examine what’s keeping me from moving forward, why the work is not calling to me as it might have at the start. I discovered in a recent project that I’d lost motivation because the storytelling wasn’t going where I’d hoped it would travel. I came to terms with the reason I was losing steam: the plot and characters ultimately felt contrived, inauthentic, like I was trying to accomplish something that wasn’t quite my aesthetic truth or what I had originally envisioned. At the core of my reluctance was a hard fact: I didn’t feel connected to the story or my characters. 

Other times, I have stepped away from a project for a week or two, and let it breathe, as some might suggest, and had an epiphany. This happened with The Beauty of Your Face. I pouted a whole summer after what I viewed as a failed first draft—I now call this kind an exploratory draft!—then I had an epiphany. I was able to preserve my original idea, but invented new characters and reframed the plotline. Unfortunately—or perhaps, fortunately, depending on how you look at it!—the more recent project I mentioned didn’t work out after a break from it. 

So how do I remedy that? I move on. Or return to something else that’s been on my mind. I’ve taken the advice of other writers and remember to live, be among friends and family, give myself grace, then return to my desk. The practice of balance in my life is one I continue to foster. 

I’ve also invested in amazing writing groups/gatherings. Writing should never be lonely—it is a solitary occupation, but it shouldn’t be miserable. I always encourage emerging writers to find community, to read others and get read. Fresh eyes on our work is invaluable and they can help with writerly self-care. 

And yet another common antidote: read and read some more. When I immerse myself in gorgeous storytelling, it’s like a boost of dopamine. I’m excited again to get back to the work. 

And finally, a quick pick-me-up, I record really amazing sentences or descriptions I’ve written and listen back. It’s a cool reminder of why I write: I love language and its power to tell incredible stories.

Any reading recommendations? 

I always recommend supporting Arab voices from the diaspora so I'll suggest a few of my current favorites: Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa; Bride of the Sea by Eman Quotah; What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad. 

And for Arab American Heritage Month—support writers, artists, and scholars by following #30DaysArabVoices and Radius of Arab + SWANA Writers (they have daily poetry prompts this month)

I also support Chicago’s very own Women & Children First and Semicolon bookstore. 

Thank you, Sahar!