Syrian dissident journalist to speak on campus

Syrian journalist and novelist Samar Yazbek, whose recently published personal account of Syria’s revolution has received worldwide attention, will deliver two talks on campus on Wednesday, Sept. 19.

The first will be held at noon in Rm. A001 of the Institution for Social and Policy Studies, 77 Prospect St. At 4:30 p.m., Yazbek will speak at 4:30 p.m. in Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse Ave. Both events are free and open to the public.

Watch Samar Yazbek’s 4:30 p.m. talk on YaleLivestream.

Yazbek, who hails from a prominent Syrian family, was a noted writer and television personality in her country before she was forced to flee after being repeatedly harassed by Syrian security forces for her outspoken criticism of the Assad regime. She was denounced by her family and now lives a life in hiding in Europe with her daughter. Her memoir, “A Woman in the Crossfire: Diaries of the Syrian Revolution,” chronicles the first months of the Syrian uprising and is number one this week on the Amazon best-seller list. Recently profiled on CNN, Yazbek has written an op-ed piece describing a secret trip to Syria that was just published in The New York Times.

Born in Jableh, Syria, in 1970, Yazbek studied literature before beginning her career as a journalist and a scriptwriter for Syrian television and film. A highly regarded writer in Syria, her novels include “Child of Heaven” (2002), “Clay” (2005), “Cinnamon” (2008), and “In Her Mirrors” (2010). “Cinnamon” will be published in an English translation by Arabia Books, an imprint of Haus Publishing, in November.