RAWI (Radius of Arab American Writers)


RAWI is a national organization that provides mentoring, community, and support for Arab American writers and those with roots in the Arabic speaking world and the diaspora. It stands for The Radius of Arab American Writers and its acronym, RAWI, means “storyteller” in Arabic.

History

RAWI was founded in 1992 by journalist and anthropologist Barbara Nimri Aziz. It began as a seven-person group of writers that met in Washington, D.C. Today, RAWI has nearly 125 writers, artists, and journalists all over the world, from the United States to the United Arab Emirates.
“I hope that RAWI can be a solace and provide its members and the Arab American literary community support and a sense of belonging and connection and resistance," Randa Jarrar, the President of RAWI, says.

Programs

Every other year, RAWI puts on a conference for Arab American writers, artists, and scholars, which features readings, panels, workshops, and roundtables. The 2016 conference featured a panel discussing the challenges that Islamophobia and anti-Arab sentiment presented for Arab American writers. The June 2018 conference was in Houston, Texas, and featured panels and readings on Performing Images of the Body, an Artist Book Workshop, Queering Language, and readings featuring Marwa Helal, Randa Jarrar, Laila Lalami, Jess Rizkallah, and Zaina Alsous.
They advocated for the first-ever Arab American Caucus at AWP.
RAWI cosponsors the Etel Adnan Poetry Prize, an award given for a first or second book of poetry by a poet of Arab Heritage. Jess Rizkallah’s the magic my body becomes was the inaugural winner, published in the fall of 2017.
Previous RAWI conferences were organized in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2012, and 2014.
Participants in previous conferences included Naomi Shihab Nye, Moha Kahf, Lawrence Joseph, D. H. Melhem, Hayan Charara, Fadhil Al-Azzawi, Susan Muaddi Darraj, Randa Jarrar, Philip Metres, Laila Halaby, Deema Shehabi, Hisham Matar, Fadia Faqir, Marilyn Nelson, and Marilyn Hacker.

Notable Members