Hayan Charara is a poet, a children's book author, an essayist and an editor.
He is the son of Lebanese immigrants. He grew up in Detroit, Michigan. He earned a B.A. in English from Wayne State University, a Master's in Humanities from New York University, and a Ph.D. in literature and creating writing from the University of Houston, which is where he teaches now in both subjects.
His work explores family, loss, identity and the experience of growing up Arab American in Detroit. He's the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts fellowship, the Lucille Joy prize for poetry from the University of Houston's Creative Writing program, and the Arab American book award.
This interview was recorded in 2021. Charara's book, "These Trees, Those Leaves, This Flower, That Fruit," referred to in the interview is now available.
