Ibtisam Barakat ( ar, ابتسام بركات) is a Palestinian-American bilingual author, poet, artist, translator, and educator. She was born in Beit Hanina-

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the sector of Jerusalem that was held by Jordan during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to the western sector of the city, West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Jerusalem was envisaged as a separat ...

. Barakat received her

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from Bir Zeit University, near

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ar, رام الله, , God's Height) is a Palestinian city in the central West Bank that serves as the ''de facto'' administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusale ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank ( ar, الضفة الغربية, translit=aḍ-Ḍiffah al-Ġarbiyyah; he, הגדה המערבית, translit=HaGadah HaMaʽaravit, also referred to by some Israelis as ) is a landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. In 1986, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, where she interned with ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...

'' magazine. She went on to earn a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

and another master's degree in human development and family studies from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

Bibliography

What a Song Can Do: 12 Riffs on the Power of Music (2004)

Barakat contributed to this anthology that "explores the powerful impact that music has in our lives." The anthology was published June 8, 2004 by Knopf Books for Young Readers. Other contributors include

Jennifer Armstrong Jennifer Mary Armstrong (born May 19, 1961) is an American children's writer known for both fiction and non-fiction. She was born in Waltham, Massachusetts, grew up outside of New York City, and now lives in Saratoga Springs, New York. She was ...

, Ron Koertge,

Joseph Bruchac Joseph Bruchac (born October 16, 1942) is an American writer and storyteller based in New York. He writes about Indigenous peoples of the Americas, with a particular focus on northeastern Native American and Anglo-American lives and folklore. He ...

David Levithan David Levithan (born September 7, 1972) is an American young adult fiction author and editor."David Levithan". October 30, 2008. Gale Database. ''Contemporary Authors Online''. UWM Golda Meir Library, Milwaukee. July 1, 2009. He has written numer ...

, Jude Mandell, J. Alison James, and Sarah Ellis.

Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood (2007)

'' Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood'' was published February 20, 2007 by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux. The memoir is about growing up under

Israeli occupation Israeli-occupied territories are the lands that were captured and occupied by Israel during the Six-Day War of 1967. While the term is currently applied to the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights, it has also been used to refer to a ...

following the 1967

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...

and the persistence and resistance of the Palestinian struggle for liberation. ''Tasting the Sky'' received the following accolades: * Dorothy Canfield Fischer Children's Book Nominee (2009) * International Reading Association's Best Nonfiction for Young Adults (2008) * Arab American Book Award in the Children/ Young Adult Category (2008) * Middle East Council Best Literature Book Award (2007)

Free?: Stories About Human Rights (2010)

Barakat contributed to this anthology that explores the concept of freedom. ''Free?'' was published April 27, 2020 by Candlewick. Other contributors include

David Almond David Almond (born 15 May 1951) is a British author who has written many novels for children and young adults from 1998, each one receiving critical acclaim. He is one of thirty children's writers, and one of three from the UK, to win the bienn ...

Margaret Mahy Margaret Mahy (21 March 1936 – 23 July 2012) was a New Zealand author of children's and young adult books. Many of her story plots have strong supernatural elements but her writing concentrates on the themes of human relationships and growi ...

Meja Mwangi Meja Mwangi (born 27 December 1948) is a Kenyan writer. He has worked in the film industry, including in screenwriting, assistant directing, and casting. Biography Mwangi was born David Dominic Mwangi in Nanyuki, Kenya, and was educated at Nany ...

, Jamila Gavin,

Eoin Colfer Eoin Colfer (; born 14 May 1965) is an Irish author of children's books. He worked as a primary school teacher before he became a full-time writer. He is best known for being the author of the Artemis Fowl (series), ''Artemis Fowl'' series. I ...

Michael Morpurgo Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo (''né'' Bridge; 5 October 1943) is an English book author, poet, playwright, and librettist who is known best for children's novels such as ''War Horse'' (1982). His work is noted for its "magical storytellin ...

Theresa Breslin Theresa Breslin is a Scottish author. Winner of many literary awards, including the prestigious Carnegie Medal, Theresa Breslin is the popular, critically acclaimed author of over 50 titles covering every age range, whose books have been adapte ...

, and Sarah Mussi.

Al Ta' Al Marbouta Tateer (2011)

''Al Ta' Al Marbouta Tateer'', التاء المربوطة تطير, translated as ''The Letter Ta Escapes'' or ''The Taa' That Flies'', is about a letter in the Arabic alphabet that refuses to do what it is supposed to do in a word. The book won the

Anna Lindh Ylva Anna Maria Lindh (19 June 1957 – 11 September 2003) was a Swedish Social Democratic politician and lawyer who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1998 until her death. She was also a Member of the Riksdag (member of parliament) f ...

Foundation award for Best Literature for Arabic children.

Hadeyyah Lel-Hamzah (2014)

Hadeyyah Lel-Hamzah, هدية للهمزة, translated as ''A Present for the Letter Hamzah'', which Barakat wrote and illustrated, was published by The National Library of the United Arab Emirates - Abu Dhabi.

Balcony on the Moon (2016)

''Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine'' was published October 15, 2016 by

Farrar, Straus and Giroux Farrar, Straus and Giroux (FSG) is an American book publishing company, founded in 1946 by Roger Williams Straus Jr. and John C. Farrar. FSG is known for publishing literary books, and its authors have won numerous awards, including Pulitzer ...

. In 2017, the book was nominated for the Arab American Book Award for Children's/Young Adult Literature. The book also received the following accolades: * Junior Library Guild Selection * Palestine Book Award Shortlist Selection * VOYA Nonfiction Honor Roll Selection * Skipping Stones Honor Book * Arab-American National Museum Honor Book * Bank Street College of Education Best Book *

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

/ Amelia Bloomer Project Top Ten Book * Notable Book for a Global Society * News & Observer Newspaper's Wilde Best Book Award Winner * Middle East Book Award Honorable Mention

The Jar that Became a Galaxy (2019)

''The Jar that Became a Galaxy'' الجرة التي صارت مجرة was published by Tamer Institute in

, Palestine, and illustrated by Walid Taher. The book gave the national reading campaign in Palestine its title.

The Lilac Girl

''The Lilac Girl,'' published by Tamer Institute, won the prestigious Sheikh Zayed Book Award. Books Tasting The Sky (2007) Savoring the sky (2010) Balcony on the Moon: Coming of Age in Palestine (2016) Two Homes in Omar's Heart - Spanish (2022)

References

External links

Profile of Ibtisam Barakat at the Institute for Middle East Understanding

* ttp://us.macmillan.com/tastingthesky Awards and honors won by Tasting the Sky by Ibtisam Barakat at Macmillan
Ibtisam Barakat on Mahmoud Darwish at IMEU.net

Interview by Molly Bennet
''The Nation'', June 4, 2007 *

Arab-Americans Arab Americans ( ar, عَرَبٌ أَمْرِيكِا or ) are Americans of Arab ancestry. Arab Americans trace ancestry to any of the various waves of immigrants of the countries comprising the Arab World. According to the Arab American Inst ...

she is good {{DEFAULTSORT:Barakat, Ibtisam Birzeit University alumni University of Missouri alumni 21st-century Palestinian poets Palestinian women writers People from Jerusalem American poets American writers of Palestinian descent American women poets Living people 21st-century Palestinian women writers 1963 births American Arabic-language poets 21st-century American women