Samira al-Mana
Samira al-Mana. was born in Basra, Iraq in 1935, but has lived in self-imposed exile in Britain for the past 25 years. Al-Mana. was educated in Iraq, at the university of Baghdad, where she studies for a BA Honors degree in Arabic Language. She then went on to teach Arabic language and literature in a secondary school in Baghdad. Once in Britain, she undertook a Postgraduate Diploma in Librarianship and worked between 1976 and 1980 as Chief Librarian at the Iraqi Cultural Center in London.
.Al-Sabiqun wa-l-Lahiqun. (the forerunner and the Newcomers) was al-Mana. .s first novel and was published in Beirut in 1972. Her second novel, .Al-Thuna.yya al-Lundaniyya. (a London Sequel) was published almost six years later. In the intervening period, al-Mana. produced .Al-Ghina.. (singing) - a collection of short stories, in 1976.
Her play, .Only a Half., was published in 1984. Her third novel, .Habl al-surra. ( The Umbilical Cord) was published in 1990. Al-Mana. is currently Assistant Editor at the al-Ightirab al-Adabi, a magazine which deals specifically with the literature of the exile. the magazine has serialized her latest novel, .Shufuni Shufuni. ( Look At Me, Look At Me).
This information was collected from In the House of Silence, autobiographical Essays by Arab women Writers, Edited By Fadia Faqir, Garnet Publishing, United Kingdom. 1998