PhD, University of 蓝莓视频
Master of Arts, Kansas State University
Master of Arts, University of Baghdad
Bachelor of Arts, Al-Moman University College
Extension: x43029
贰尘补颈濒:听lalethari@uwaterloo.ca
Biography
My academic journey began in Baghdad, Iraq as an English language student at a small teacher鈥檚 college, where I learned to teach English language and literature to non-native English speakers. After receiving my BA (1999), my interest in learning and teaching led me to complete my first MA degree (2002) from the University of Baghdad. In 2006, I had the opportunity to expand both my academic and cultural experiences when I won a Fulbright Scholarship to complete a second MA at Kansas State University (2008). My young family and I arrived in Canada as landed immigrants and one year later, I joined the PhD program at the University of 蓝莓视频. Since my graduation (2014), I divide my time between my family, my teaching, and my creative and scholarly work.
Selected Publications
Books
Al Ethari, Lamees, and Maria Lombard. Mothering and Inter/Generational Trauma. Bradford: Demeter Press, 2025.
Waiting for the Rain: A Memoir. Toronto: Mawenzi House Publishers, 2019.
From the Wounded Banks of the Tigris. London: Baseline Press, 2018.
Book Chapters
Iraqi Mothers, Diasporic Sons: Narrative Patterns of Identity and Belonging in听Baghdad Twist,鈥澨Representations of Refugee, Migrant, and Displaced Motherhood in a Global Context.听Ed. Maria Lombard. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield, 2022.
Pieces in Literary Journals and Anthologies
鈥淢otherhood in Crisis,鈥 Gilgamesh: A Journal of Modern Iraqi Art. Baghdad: Ministry of Information and Culture, 2023.听
鈥淏aghdad鈥 (poem), 鈥淐arrying Baghdad鈥 (visual art), 鈥淒reams of Home鈥 (visual art).听, vol. 5, no. 2, Fall 2018.
鈥淧oems of a Fallen City: Four Poems.鈥澨The New Quarterly, no. 147, Fall 2018.
鈥311 and Counting.鈥澨Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here:听Poets and Writers Respond to the March 5th, 2007, Bombing of Baghdad's "Street of the Booksellers."听Oakland: PM Press, 2012.
鈥淒reams of Exile,鈥 鈥淩oots,鈥 and 鈥淶ahawi.鈥澨Malpais Review. vol. 2, no. 2, Autumn, 2012.
鈥淎fter the Rain.鈥澨The Changing Image, Kitchener Public Library, 2011.
鈥淩oots.鈥澨The Changing Image, Kitchener Public Library, 2009.
Fellowships & Awards
- Co-Investigator, Partnership Engage Grant, (SSHRC) Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 鈥溾楾hey never get to see me鈥: Muslim Women鈥檚 Employment-Seeking Experiences in Midsize Urban Municipal Public Services.鈥
- Principal Investigator, Connection Grant, (SSHRC) Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, 鈥淭he X Page: A Storytelling Workshop for Immigrant Women,鈥 2019-2020 听
- Outstanding Performance Award, University of 蓝莓视频, 2023
- Nominee, National Magazine Award in Poetry, 2019
- Ontario Graduate Scholarship, 2011-13
- Graduate Creative Writing Award for Poetry 2011
- The Dorothy Shoemaker Literary Award for Poetry 2009
- J. William Fulbright Scholarship, 2006-2008
Current Research
Patterns of Telling: Arab Women鈥檚 Autobiography in the Diaspora:听A critical and creative autoethnographic exploration of Arab women鈥檚 expressions of identification through 鈥渦nconscious鈥 patterns of storytelling that differ according to cultural backgrounds, social status, and places of re-settlement.
The Fortune Teller and Other Stories:听Building on the folktales from Iraqi culture, this collection tells the stories of a community in the rural villages of southern Iraq.
Knowledge Mobilization
- Naomi Shihab Nye Prize for Arab American and Arab Canadian Authors, Al-Bustan Seeds of Culture, 2023-25
- Nonfiction Editor,听The New Quarterly, 2016-present
- Co-Founder, The X Page Project
Areas of Interest
- Arab Women鈥檚 Literature and Life Writing听
- Diaspora and Immigrant Literature
- Creative Writing (Multi-Genre)
- Academic Writing and Communication