On Tuesday, March 11th, guest speaker Danny Ramadan provided a powerful and informative presentation on the relationship between author and reader.
Danny is an award-winning, Syrian-Canadian author and an LGBTQ-refugees advocate. Danny’s resume is long and riveting: he has lived in numerous countries, his work and passions are extensive, and he has received many notable awards and honours. Danny is the 2024-2025 Canadian Writer-in-Residence at the University of Calgary.
Crooked Teeth: A Queer Syrian Refugee Memoir (2024) begins with the line “Writing this memoir is a betrayal.” Danny half-jokingly states that he wrote his memoir against his will. Personal Danny is protected and reserved: Author/Public Danny is calculated. According to Danny, fiction provides a shield and a safe platform in which to write, whereas Crooked Teeth exposes his private self and dark memories: memories that have been intentionally locked in vaults of the past. Resilience is a word that aptly applies to Danny’s memoir and his life’s journey.
Danny shared his favourite childhood memory of his paternal family’s 300-year-old home in Damascus. His discussion illustrates how he uses parts of his life, such as this special family home, in his fictional works. Danny emphasizes that although his fictional stories incorporate real-life experiences, these books are not memoir.
Danny’s other books include The Clothesline Swing (2017) and the 2023 Lambda Literary Award for Gay Fiction winner, The Foghorn Echoes (2020). The Salma children’s series, which includes one picture book and three chapter books, has won numerous awards. Danny describes his children’s books as a welcome break from his more serious writing.
The CWLC is grateful to Danny for sharing his works and for trusting our members with aspects of both his public and private self.
Posted by Mooréa G.