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| Ibtisam Barakat: Poet, Author and Educator |
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Barakat , Ibtisam
Columbia , Missouri - 65205
United States |
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Palestinian-American poet, author and educator Ibtisam Barakat grew up in Ramallah, Palestine, and came to the US for an internship at The Nation magazine in NY. Later she earned Masters degrees in both journalism and human development from the University of Missouri-Columbia.
She taught language ethics at Stephens College and is the founder of Write Your life Seminars to help people from various backgrounds contribute to writing history by sharing their voices and personal stories.
Ibtisam Barakat's memoir, Tasting the Sky, a Palestinian Childhood (FSG, 2007) won more than 20 awards and honors, including the International Reading Association's Best Non-Fiction for YA, Middle East Council Best Literature Book; and Arab American National Museum Best Book for YA and Children. Tasting the Sky is also an American Library Association notable book and an IRA Book for a Global Society. Currently it's available in five language and the sixth is forthcoming.
Working in both English and Arabic, ibtisam has spoken to audiences nationally and internationally, led workshops and conducted author residencies in a large number of schools and learning communities.
She represented Palestine in the World Poetry Conference in Venezuela, 2009; was a delegate to the 3rd UN conference on ending Racism in South Africa; and is one of the 15 international authors who were invited to contribute to Amnesty International's YA anthology, FREE?, celebrating the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
In 2010, Ibtisam was one of the judges in the national finals of Poetry Out Loud, the poetry recitation contest for all of high schools in the US and the Islands, run by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Poetry Foundation.
You can reach Ibtisam at: i_barakat@yahoo.com -- or by visiting her page: www.ibtisambarakat.com -- or through her Face Book page.
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