This older essay is getting new life

I remember in 2018 when my essay “Grape Leaves” got accepted by The Rumpus and I was so happy I cried. The Rumpus was one of a handful of magazines on a publication bucket list and they were the first one I got to cross off the list. After several dozen near misses, I was thrilled my essay was going to one of my dream pubs.

That was 5 years ago, so imagine my surprise when Twitter alerted me that The Rumpus republished it from their archives and is giving the essay new life! The essay is about my Palestinian family, grief, and trying to locate yourself within a culture you long to be a part of but your family has more or less severed for you. It’s as relevant as ever and holds up well. I’m proud of my younger self for writing it and happy that my older self can look back on it as a turning point in my creative writing.

I’d appreciate it if you’d give it a read!