Son of Elsewhere
with Elamin Abdelmahmoud
Hosted by Adrian Harewood
In Person Memoir
Elamin Abdelmahmoud is full of light and wisdom, his book is no different. With humour and vulnerability, he writes about the struggle to find himself in Canada while maintaining a connection to his roots in Sudan. I laughed out loud even as my heart ached for him, and I dogeared dozens of pages where his sentences were so perfect that I will return to them again and again.
Join us for a conversation between Carleton University’s Adrian Harewood and Elamin Abdelmahmoud, culture writer for BuzzFeed News and a contributor to The National’s At Issue panel, about his national bestseller, Son of Elsewhere: A Memoir in Pieces.
Professional wrestling super fandom, Ontario's endlessly unfurling 401 highway, late nights at the convenience store listening to heavy metal—for writer and podcast host Elamin Abdelmahmoud, these are the building blocks of a life. Son of Elsewhere charts that life in wise, funny, and moving reflections on the many threads that weave together into an identity.
Arriving in Canada at age 12 from Sudan, Elamin's teenage years were spent trying on new ways of being in the world, new ways of relating to his almost universally white peers. His is a story of yearning to belong in a time and place where expectation and assumptions around race, faith, language, and origin make such belonging extremely difficult, but it's also a story of the surprising and unexpected ways in which connection and acceptance can be found.
Taken together, these essays explore how we pick and choose from our experience and environment to help us in the ongoing project of defining who we are—how, for instance, the example of Mo Salah, the profound grief practices of Islam, the nerdy charm of The O.C.'s Seth Cohen, and the long shadow of colonialism can cohere into a new and powerful whole.
PLEASE NOTE: For the safety and comfort of all patrons, masks are required to attend in person.
Most people coming by car park for free at the Supreme Court of Canada on Wellington St.
Ticket holders unable to attend in person can request access to the livestream. Livestream links will be sent about an hour prior and will remain active for 48 hours. Please email leslie@writersfestival.org to request a link.
Books are available from our friends at Perfect Books.
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