"Palestinian writers create a 'new' home through writing, so to speak. In this way, literature and writing are the essential breath of our people."

Fresno State's national literary magazine, The Normal School, recently published a roundtable discussion with three Palestinian writers. The roundtable was highlighted in the magazine's March email newsletter.

The roundtable includes authors Susan Muaddi Darraj, Lena Mubsutina and Deema K. Shehabi. It is moderated by Dr. Samina Najmi, a professor of English who has taught multiethnic literatures on campus since 2006. Mubsutina is a Fresno State alum.

The Normal School is an online magazine produced by graduate students in the university's Master of Fine Arts Program in Creative Writing. The publication's founding editor and faculty adviser is Steven Church, a professor of English. The magazine also recently published the new poem "Missive for a Departed Soul" by the writer and human rights activist Haya Abu Nasser.

Read the conversation in The Normal School.

Elsewhere on campus, Fresno State held two teach-in sessions in early February that provided an historical background on Palestine and Israel. The sessions were hosted by Dr. Julia Shatz, an assistant professor of history.