Ink Paper Think By Sehba Sarwar

Fawzia Afzal-Khan, Professor of English at Montclair State University, has authored four books and numerous articles. Also a trained vocalist in Indian Classical music, she often performs in New York with her band, Neither East Nor West.

What have you recently published? What are you working on now?

My most recent publications include Shattering the Stereotypes: Muslim Women Speak Out (Interlink Books, 2005), and A Critical Stage: The Role of Secular Alternative Theatre in Pakistan (Seagull Books, 2005), my critical/scholarly book on Pakistani parallel theatre and the women’s movement. Presently, I am finishing up my memoir. I have received a favourable response from Syracuse University Press and am looking forward to bringing it to the production stage soon. Women Unlimited Press may buy the South Asian rights for it. That will be great!

What are your writing habits? Your work style? Work impediments?

Well... since I work in so many different genres...non-fiction, drama, poetry, scholarly criticism etc — I cannot say I have very uniform writing habits. I write poetry mostly when inspired, rather than as a craft I practice at steady times during each work day... the journalistic writing is often in response to particular events and so I have to clear my desk of all other commitments when something happens which I feel the need to respond to in writing. Sometimes I have long-term projects I have to finish or continue working on over many years — those I usually take up on a regular basis over the summers when I have time off from teaching... and some scholarly commitments I take on and then complete when the deadline is looming. So I would say that my habits vary depending upon the type of project and the time of year.....