“In narrow alleys, between houses of tin and zinc, stories are born the way hot bread is born from the womb of fire.”
— from the book’s introduction
The Smell of Zinc by Ziad Abu Laban presents a collection of short stories that document fragments of everyday life in Palestinian refugee camps. The stories attend to small details as vivid markers of Palestinian collective memory and life, where resilience is intertwined with hardship.
Poet Zulaikha Abu Risha will be in conversation with Ziad Abu Laban about his new short-story collection. The event will include readings from the book, followed by an open discussion with the audience.
The conversation will be held in Arabic.
Ziad Abu Laban (Born in 1962) is a Jordanian writer, critic, short story writer, and university professor with a PhD in modern criticism from the University of Jordan. He has served as president of the Jordanian Writers' Association, as well as a member of Cairo Atelier (A collective of writers and artists) and the General Union of Arab Writers.
Abu Laban has also served on the editorial boards of Awraq, the journal of the Jordanian Writers Association, and has worked across education and cultural policy—teaching in public schools, and later holding multiple senior positions at the Ministry of Culture, including Head of the Studies Department, Head of Publications, Director of the Department of Studies and Publication, and cultural advisor. He has also served as President of the Jordanian Critics Association and currently works as Director General of the Jerusalem Studies Center. In addition, he has lectured at several Jordanian universities.
His short story collections include Dead Delirium, My Father and the Sheikh, One Morning, and Muffled Breaths. His most recent collection is The Smell of Zinco. He has also written a number of children's stories, in addition to his works and articles on literary criticism.
Zulaikha Abu Risha is a poet, columnist, researcher, and cultural, human rights, and feminist activist. Her professional career has spanned the field of education, including work with UNRWA and King Abdulaziz University, alongside sustained engagement in cultural life across Jordan and the wider Arab world.
She has played a formative role in establishing, leading, and contributing to numerous cultural, feminist, and human rights organizations in Jordan and internationally, including in the Arab world, Switzerland, Britain, and South Korea. These include the Jordanian Writers’ Association, the Center for Women’s Studies, IBBY, the Arab Council for Childhood, and the Arab Organization for Human Rights.
Abu Risha has also edited and contributed to several Jordanian and Arab cultural magazines, including Al-Moalim/Al-Talib, Al-Fann, Awraq, and Alif. She has participated in poetry festivals and cultural conferences across cities in both the Global South and North, and previously served as Secretary of the Poetry Committee at the Jerash International Festival.
Her publications span poetry, fiction, and critical writing. She has published thirteen poetry collections, the most recent titled Like Love, as well as one collection of short stories, four children’s books, and several studies on children’s literature. A new book, Seagulls Want Clear Ideas, is currently in press.