Skip to content

Drunk on Ink Q & A with Saadia Faruqi and ‘Meet Yasmin’

Drunk on Ink is a blast interview series by Soniah Kamal author of  the novel Unmarriageable a parallel retelling of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and set in contemporary Pakistan 

Saadia Faruqi is a Pakistani American author, essayist and interfaith activist. “Brick Walls: Tales of Hope & Courage from Pakistan” is her debut adult fiction book, and her children’s early reader series “Yasmin” is published by Capstone. She trains various audiences including faith groups and law enforcement on topics pertaining to Islam, and has been featured in Oprah Magazine in 2017 as a woman making a difference in her community. She is editor-in-chief of Blue Minaret, a magazine for Muslim art, poetry and prose. She resides in Houston, TX with her husband and children.

About Meet Yasmin.

Yasmin Ahmad is a spirited second-grader who’s always on the lookout for those “aha” moments to help her solve life’s little problems. Taking inspiration from her surroundings and her big imagination, she boldly faces any situation?assuming her imagination doesn’t get too big, of course! A creative thinker and curious explorer, Yasmin and her multi-generational Pakistani American family will delight and inspire readers. [easy reader, for ages 5 and up].

 

SONIAH KAMAL: First author/book you read/fell in love with?

SAADIA FARUQI: I always loved reading Shakespeare in high school, ranging from Romeo and Juliet to satisfy my romanticism, to Juliet Caesar and Merchant of Venice to feed my political and cultural curiosity. From American authors, I completely fell in love with Gone with the Wind in my teens, and must have read it several times. Of course as a Pakistani I had virtually no knowledge about the civil war and race relations, so it was just a good story to me.

Who is the illustrator for Meet Yasmin?

Hatem Aly.

To unwind: chai, coffee, water, wine?

I’m ashamed to say I’m not a tea drinker despite spending half my life in Pakistan! My go-to poison is Diet Coke, which I consider the panacea of all ills, including healing migraines.

A novel, short story, poem, essay, anything you believe should be mandatory reading?

There are so many books which one should read, it’s a never ending list for me. For essays and opinion pieces, or for book recommendations, I always send people right to the Electric Literature website. I’ve found such gems over there, electric words that speak to the heart and the mind.

Any classic you wished you’d pushed through in your teens?

I was a good girl! I read all the classics. Possibly Dr. Zhivago is the one I couldn’t finish, and also anything by Hemmingway put me to sleep. So maybe those are ones I’d read again now. But on the other hand, now I’d much rather be reading newer books by women of color, immigrant stories and the like, rather than what is termed as classic.

A favorite quote from Meet Yasmin. 

Meet Yasmin is an early reader for children, so there aren’t any deep, philosophical sentences I could quote.

Your favorite book to film?

The Breadwinner by Deborah Ellis. It’s the story of an Afghani girl who dresses up like a boy to earn for her family during the Taliban rule in Afghanistan. The book was a bestseller but the animated film, produced by Angelina Jolie, was equally fantastic.

Favorite Indie Book Store/s?

Blue Willow Books in Houston. They have the best events, especially for children’s authors, and they are really a part of their community.

The one think you wish you’d known about the writing life?

How much self-doubt I would have, and how seldom true inspiration would strike.

Does writing/publishing/marketing get any easier with each story/novel published?

Yes it does. You learn by making mistakes and improve yourself in every aspect of the craft. A writers’ first book is not as good as the second one, and so on. You also learn about marketing and publicity, and things that worried you on book 1 don’t even make an impact on your mind on book 2 or 3. It’s definitely something that gets better as time goes on.

Dog, Cat, Or?

Love cats, but refuse to actually keep one as a pet. I don’t want to add to the number of living things that depend on me!

Favorite book cover?

The Meet Yasmin! Cover is simply adorable. Once the book is published I may lose some of my wonder and begin to admire other books too.

Favorite song?

Anything by Asha Boshle or Kuman Sanu. And Junoon. I’m old school like that.

Ideal Vacation?

Road tripping in the Norwegian mountains. We did this last summer and the scenes were just breathtaking! The sun doesn’t fully set in those parts in the summer months, so we literally would drive until midnight and not realize what time it was. I recommend it to everyone.

Favorite work of art?

Van Gogh’s Starry Night. I realize it’s extremely popular, but I like it because of sentimental value. When my husband and I first got married, it was the first print we ever bought to hang in out tiny apartment. We’ve moved four states over the last twenty years but that painting still hangs in every bedroom we’ve ever slept in. It keeps me grounded in reality, and gives me a boost of confidence like nothing else.

Favorite Jane Austen novel and film adaptation?

I am not a huge fan of Jane Austen, but my favorite novel of hers is probably Emma. I just love the headstrong and misguided main character so much! In terms of adaptations, I’ll have to go with Bride and Prejudice, a Bollywood retelling with Aishwarya Rai as the heroine. If one is watching Austen, one might as well make it lively and colorful, with all the music and comedic drama of a Bollywood film.

Favorite Small Press and Literary Journal?

I have to plug my own literary journal Blue Minaret, which publishes poetry, art and fiction by Muslim creatives. Other than my own I love Catapult not just for its literary offerings like essays but also the books it publishes.

Last impulse book buy and why?

Too many to count. Serpent’s Secret by Sayantani Dasgupta was the very latest one because Bengali mythical creatures and princesses.

Soniah Kamal is an award winning novelist, essayist and public speaker.  Soniah’s novel Unmarriageable is a Financial Times Readers’ Best Book of 2019, a People’s Magazine Pick, a Library Reads Pick, an NPR Code Switch Summer Read Pick, a 2019 Book All Georgians Should Read, a 2020 Georgia Author of the Year for Literary Fiction nominee and more. Her novel An Isolated Incident was shortlisted for the Townsend Prize for Fiction and the KLF French Fiction Prize. Soniah’s TEDx talk is about second chances and she has delivered numerous keynotes addreses. ‘We are the Ink’, her address at a U.S. Citizenship Oath Ceremony, talks about immigrants and the real American Dreams, her keynote at the Jane Austen Festival is about universality across time and cultures and she’s given keynotes at Writers Conferences. Soniah’s work has appeared in critically acclaimed anthologies and publications including The New York Times, The Guardian, The Georgia Review, The Bitter Southerner, Catapult, The Normal School, Apartment Therapy and more. www.soniahkamal.com
She’s on twitter and instagram @soniahkamal

More Drunk on Ink Interviews:

Mike Chen: Here and Now and Then, a novel

Ruth Franklin: Shirley Jackson A Rather Haunted Life, biography

Colleen Oakley: Before I Go, a novel

Emily Midorikawa: A Secret Sisterhood: The literary friendships of Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, George Eliot, and Virginia Woolf, biography

Shabnam Samuel: A Fractured Life, memoir

Elise Hooper: The Other Alcott, a novel

Anne Boyd Rioux: Meg, Jo, Beth, Amy: The Story of Little Women and Why It Still Matters, non fiction

Devoney Looser: The Making of Jane Austen, non fiction

Kristen Miller ZohnThe Currency of Taste- Gibbons Georgian Silver, coffee table book

Vanessa HuaA River of Stars, novel

Chaitli SenThe Pathless Sky, novel

Sonya HuberPain Woman Take Your Keys, memoir

Kathy Wilson FlorenceThree of Cups, a novel

Sara Luce LookCharis Books and More, independent book store

S J SinduMarriage of a Thousand Lies, a novel

Rosalie Morales KearnsKingdom of Men, a novel

Saadia FaruqiMeet Yasmin, children’s literature

Rene DenfeldThe Child Finder, a novel

Jamie BrennerThe Husband Hour, a novel

Sara MarchantThe Driveway has Two Sides, memoir

Kirsten Imani KasaiThe House of Erzulie, a novel

Thrity UmrigarThe Secrets Between Us, novel

John Kessel, Pride and Prometheus, novel

Lisa Romeo, Starting with Goodbye: A Daughter’s Memoir of Love After Loss

Rachel May, An American Quilt: Unfolding a Story of Family and Slavery

Rebecca Entel, Fingerprints of Previous Owners, novel

Jamie Sumner, Unbound: Finding from Unrealistic Expectations of Motherhood

Falguni Kothari, My Last Love Story, novel

Tanaz BathenaA Girl Like That, YA novel

 

 

No comments yet

Leave a Reply

You may use basic HTML in your comments. Your email address will not be published.

Subscribe to this comment feed via RSS