In this interview, I speak with award-winning graphic novelist, journalist, and cartoonist Malaka Gharib. She is the author of I Was Their American Dream, a graphic memoir published in 2019 about being first-generation Filipino Egyptian American, which won an Arab American Book Award in 2020. Then in 2022, she published It Won't Always Be Like This, a graphic memoir about her summers in the Middle East. By day, she works as a digital editor at NPR for Life Kit, a lifestyle podcast about health, finance, relationships and more. Her comics and writing have been published in the Los Angeles Times, Catapult, The Believer Magazine and The New Yorker. She has been profiled in The Washington Post and The New York Times. Some of her comics and zines are archived at the Smithsonian Institution, the New York Public Library, the Arab American Museum and Barnard College’s Zine Library. Her art and writing have been exhibited at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, the Harvard Radcliffe Institute and Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery. Read along to learn more about Malaka Gharib.
RIYA : Thank you so much for taking the time to do this interview: as a big fan of your work since 2018, I’m absolutely thrilled. In both your graphic memoirs, I Was Their American Dream and It Won't Always Be Like This, you talk a lot about experiences that many children of immigrants can relate to. Why do you think it’s important for children to feel represented in the books they read?
MALAKA : When you see yourself in a book, it validates your experience and worldview. It makes you think: "Hey, my life is pretty normal! And here are some people who have gone on to do great things with their lives. I can, too." That's a great feeling.
RIYA : What do you hope is the main takeaway from each of your memoirs?
MALAKA : A lot of my work is about fitting in whether it's within society or even within your family. But I want people to know: always be yourself. That's the main takeaway. The best thing you can be is you. That's hard to do when family members or people at school or people on TV tell you different. That you should change who you are to fit in better. So when you finally love yourself, accept yourself -- well, that's a big deal!
RIYA : Although I have my favorite moments in each of your memoirs, I’m curious: what was your favorite part of writing It Won’t Always Be Like This?
MALAKA : My favorite part of writing It Won't Always Be Like This is reconnecting with my stepmom and getting to ask her questions about my childhood and our time together. We hadn't really spoken in ten years. So that was wonderful!
RIYA : How do you choose what to include in your graphic memoir and what not to include?
MALAKA : I only choose memories that serve a purpose. As a genre, memoir is the art of illuminating something about the human experience using your own personal experience as a vehicle. So if I want to describe my lonely teenage years, for example, I'll pick a few stories that really exemplify that. Everything else is on the cutting table.
RIYA : When did you start making comics and graphic novels and when did you know that you wanted to write a graphic memoir?
MALAKA : I've always kept a diary, filled with writing and drawings, since I was a little kid. That combination of writing and drawing as a way to express myself stuck with me. So when I had the opportunity to write a graphic memoir, that was the medium I chose-- it came naturally to me.
RIYA : What is your creative process like right now? And, relatedly, do you think this medium and creative process will be very different in ten or fifteen years? How do you see it evolving?
MALAKA : I draw and write when I feel like it! As the years pass, I think drawing comics will become more popular and you'll see a lot more graphic novels out there.
RIYA : What would be one piece of advice you want to give to teenagers who might relate to I Was Their American Dream and It Won't Always Be Like This?
MALAKA : If it inspires you, don't be afraid to write and draw your own story. Everyone has a story to tell about themselves and their family. Even you.
In November 2022, I had the pleasure of speaking with Amy Kurzweil, a New Yorker cartoonist and the author of "Flying Couch: A Graphic Memoir". In 2021, she was a Berlin Prize fellow with The American Academy in Berlin where she worked on her second graphic memoir, "Artificial: A Love Story".
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In this interview, I speak with award-winning graphic novelist, journalist, and cartoonist Malaka Gharib.
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