Zein El-Amine

A bit about me. I was born and raised in Lebanon and I lived in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain before moving to the US in 1987. After a long career as a civil engineer, I decided to dedicate myself to writing and I obtained an MFA in Poetry from the University of Maryland. Now I teach creative writing and Global Literature and Social Change in the English Department, and I teach courses on Arabic language and culture at the Arabic department. I also lead literary study-abroad trips to Egypt and Ireland and I am now planning a new program in Morocco and Spain.

I am also the host of the radio show Shay Wa Naa Naa at the Pacifica Station in Washington DC. The radio program focuses on Arab politics and culture.

My poems have been published by Wild River Review, Folio, Foreign Policy in Focus, Beltway Quarterly, DC Poets Against the War Anthology, Penumbra, GYST, Joybringer, and Middle East Report magazine.

My poetry was featured in both Beltway Quarterly (in an issue highlighting five up-and-coming DC poets) and in Split this Rock (where my poem “How to Write A Poem According to Souha Bechara” was selected as the poem of the week). My poetry will also be featured in an upcoming Ghost Fishing: An Eco-Justice Poetry Anthology, to be published by the University of Georgia Press.

My short stories have been published by Boundoff and Uno Mas magazines. Another short story “Zajal on Arak” was published in Jadaliyaa magazine. "Send My Regards to Your Mother", a memoir piece was published in Middle East Report Magazine in their summer issue of 2015. Most memoir pieces are available online.