The Modern Novel

Biography

Liana Badr was born in Jerusalem in 1952. Her father was a writer in science and literature and her mother a teacher. Both were political activists and her father spent some time in prison. Badr went to boarding school in Jerusalem. After the Six-Day War in 1967, the family left for Jordan and Badr went to the University of Jordan to study sociology and psychology but the Black September led to many Palestinians leaving Jordan. Badr went to Beirut where she studied philosophy and psychology at Beirut Arab University. At this time she started writing and wrote her first novel. After completing her B.A., she began to study for a master’s in English literature but war further interrupted her studies and she fled to Syria and then to Tunisia. She finally returned to the West Bank in 1993. She continued to publish novels, stories and poetry, usually related to the Palestinian situation, and has been very much involved in cinema, writing and directing several films.

Other links

Liana Badr
Liana Badr
The City and the Writer: In Jerusalem with Liana Badr
Interview