Ibtisam Barakat () is a

Palestinian-American Palestinian Americans () are Americans who are of full or partial Palestinian descent. There are around 160,000 Palestinian American refugees according to the 2023 American Community Survey, making up around 0.05% of the U.S. population. Th ...

bilingual author, poet, artist, translator, and educator. She was born in

Beit Hanina Beit Hanina ( ,) is an Arab Palestinian neighborhood in East Jerusalem. It is on the road to Ramallah, eight kilometers north of central Jerusalem, at an elevation of 780 meters above sea level. Beit Hanina is bordered by Pisgat Ze'ev and H ...

East Jerusalem East Jerusalem (, ; , ) is the portion of Jerusalem that was Jordanian annexation of the West Bank, held by Jordan after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, as opposed to West Jerusalem, which was held by Israel. Captured and occupied in 1967, th ...

. Barakat received her

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

from Bir Zeit University, near

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...

in the

West Bank The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...

. In 1986, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where she interned with ''

The Nation ''The Nation'' is a progressive American monthly 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 ...

'' magazine. She went on to earn a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate 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 prac ...

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

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

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, 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 lives and folklore. He has published poetr ...

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 Israel has occupied the Golan Heights of Syria and the Palestinian territories since the Six-Day War of 1967. It has previously occupied the Sinai Peninsula of Egypt and southern Lebanon as well. Prior to 1967, control of the Palestinian terr ...

following the 1967

Six-Day War The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 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, Syria, and Jordan from 5 to 10June ...

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 The Arab American Book Award, established in 2006, is an annual literary award to celebrate and support the research of, and the written work of, Arab Americans and their culture. The Arab American Book Award encourages the publication and excelle ...

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 Candlewick may refer to: *Candle wick, a part of a candle or oil lamp *Candlewick, a style of glassware made by the Imperial Glass Company * Candlewick (fabric), a thick, soft cotton fabric *Candlewick, an element in financial candlestick charts ...

. Other contributors include

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

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 Nan ...

Jamila Gavin Jamila Gavin (born 9 August 1941) is a British writer who is known mainly for children's books, including several with Indian contexts. Life Gavin was born on 9 August 1941 in Mussoorie in the United Provinces of India, in the present-day ...

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. In September 2008, Colf ...

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 storytelli ...

Theresa Breslin Theresa Breslin is a Scottish author of over 50 books. In 1994, she won the 1994 Carnegie Medal. She is an Honorary Fellow of the Association for Scottish Literary Studies. In 2019 Breslin received an O.B.E. in the Queen's Birthday Honours ...

, 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 politician and lawyer. A member of the Swedish Social Democratic Party, she served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 1998 until her death. She was also a Member of the ...

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 P ...

. In 2017, the book was nominated for the

for Children's/Young Adult Literature. The book also received the following accolades: *

Junior Library Guild Junior Library Guild, formerly the Junior Literary Guild, is a commercial Book sales club, book club devoted to juvenile literature. It was created in 1929 as one of the enterprises of the Literary Guild, an adult book club created in 1927 by Samue ...

Selection * Palestine Book Award Shortlist Selection * VOYA Nonfiction Honor Roll Selection *

Skipping Stones Stone skipping and stone skimming are the arts of throwing a flat stone across water in such a way (usually sidearm) that it bounces off the surface. "Skipping" counts the number of bounces; "skimming" measures the distance traveled. History ...

Honor Book * Arab-American National Museum Honor Book *

Bank Street College of Education Bank Street College of Education is a private school and graduate school in New York City. It consists of a graduate-only teacher training college and an independent nursery-through-8th-grade school. In 2020 the graduate school had about 65 ful ...

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. History 19th century ...

Amelia Bloomer Project Amelia may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Amélia'' (film), a 2000 Brazilian film directed by Ana Carolina * ''Amelia'' (film), a 2009 film based on the life of Amelia Earhart Literature * ''Amelia (magazine)'', a Swedish w ...

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 The Sheikh Zayed Book Award is a literary award presented yearly to writers, intellectuals, publishers whose writings and scholarly publications contributed to Arab cultural, literary and social life. The award has been described as “the Arab ...

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