An Interview with Samia Serageldin (Interview‪)‬

Samia Serageldin's life has been divided into two parts. Born and raised in Cairo, she lived through, and witnessed first-hand, the political and social turmoil of the Nasser years and the disruptions that followed. Her semi-autobiographical novel, The Cairo House, originally published in 2000 by Syracuse University Press and recently released in paperback, follows the life and memories of her character, Gihan (Gigi), through those years and the ones that followed when she moved to America. The novel is a compelling representation of what it is to lead a hyphenated identity, to try to come to terms with two cultures, two time periods, and two ways of life. Background for the novel and pictures of the real Cairo House are available on her website, www.thecairohouse.com. A second novel will soon be released and she is currently working on a collection of short stories. Samia Serageldin also teaches in the Arabic Studies Program at Duke University. What inspired you to become a writer?