The first novel published in English by a female Kurdish writer, Ava Homa’s Daughters of Smoke and Fire is an evocative portrait of the lives and stakes faced by 40 million stateless Kurds.
Join us for a conversation on this extraordinary debut novel, and learn about statelessness, identity and the fight for freedom of the Kurdish people. Q&A to follow, so please come prepared with some questions.
Note: This event will be taking place over Zoom and Facebook Live.
If you are interested in ordering a copy of Daughters of Smoke and Fire, check out Words Worth Books website for ordering information. Every minute 20 people leave everything behind to escape war, persecution or terror. Imagine that. Leaving everything behind. Your family, your belongings, your home, your security. Each year on June 20th the world comes together to observe World Refugee Day, and acknowledge this fact. This United Nation’s day of commemoration encourages us to pause and stand with refugees. It offers us an opportunity to learn, mobilize and address our concern and support for those of our neighbors who have come to Canada as a result of war, violence and oppression; but it also gives us a chance to celebrate their resilience and acknowledge the strength, determination and humanity that they now share with our community. To learn more check out World Refugee Day Waterloo Region Facebook page.
AVA HOMA is a writer, journalist and activist specializing in women’s issues and Middle Eastern affairs. She holds an MA in English and creative writing from the University of Windsor. Her collection of short stories, Echoes from the Other Land, was longlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award, and she is the inaugural recipient of the PEN Canada–Humber College Writers-in-Exile Scholarship. Born and raised in the Kurdistan Province of Iran, Homa now divides her time between Toronto and San Francisco. Daughters of Smoke and Fire is her debut novel.
About Daughters of Smoke and Fire: Set in Iran, this extraordinary debut novel takes readers into the everyday lives of the Kurds. Leila dreams of making films to bring the suppressed stories of her people onto the global stage, but obstacles keep piling up. Leila’s younger brother, Chia, influenced by their father’s past torture and imprisonment, and his own deep-seated desire for justice, begins to engage with social and political affairs. But his activism grows increasingly risky, and one day he disappears in Tehran. Seeking answers about her brother’s whereabouts and fearing the worst, Leila begins a campaign to save him. But when she publishes Chia’s writings online, she realizes that she too is in grave danger. A family friend with ties to Canada offers to help, but Leila must struggle to forgive him for his role in Chia’s disappearance.
Cost: Free
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