In this episode, Erin Fitzgibbon discusses Dina Nayer. Erin is studying Geography. She is a student journalist with us on a placement organised by the Oxford University Career Services. This article was edited using The Hemingway Editor.
🎧 listen to Erin’s backstory here - she discusses her motivation & research about Dina Nayer
Erin also wrote a short article about Dina Nayer with an inforgraphic - It’s a quick 2 minute read.
Dina Nayeri, an Iranian-American novelist, essayist, and short story writer, was born in Isfahan in 1979. This was a period of political turmoil in Iran—the Iranian Revolution. The revolution led to the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty. The present-day Islamic Republic of Iran was established then as well. This time of religious fundamentalism held particular significance for Nayeri's family.. Her mother, having converted to Christianity, was deemed an apostate. This was a crime punishable by death. Her mother faced arrest three times. Dina Nayeri experienced constant harassment at school from devout religious teachers.
In 1988, faced with such challenges, Nayeri, her mother, and younger brother embarked on a 16-month journey as asylum seekers. They travelled on a cargo plane to Dubai and then Rome. Ultimately settling in Oklahoma, USA. Despite the tumultuous nature of her childhood, Nayeri excelled academically. She graduated from Princeton, Harvard, and the Iowa Writers Workshop.
As an accomplished author, Nayeri has written two novels and two books. Her work, "The Ungrateful Refugee" (2019), won the Geschwister Scholl Preis. It also earned finalist recognition for the Los Angeles Times Book Prize, the Kirkus Prize, and Elle Grand Prix des Lectrices. Described by The Observer as "a work of astonishing, insistent importance,". The book weaves Nayeri's personal experiences into a broader narrative of displacement.
Nayeri's essay of the same name, delving into the experiences of the displaced, became one of The Guardian's most widely read long reads in 2017. It has been anthologized worldwide as well. Her literary contributions extend globally, with her work being published in over 20 countries. She has been featured in prominent publications such as The New York Times, The Guardian, The Washington Post, and The New Yorker.
Beyond the written word, Nayeri's artistic expression extends to the spoken word. Her short dramas produced by the English Touring Theatre and The Old Vic in London. Through these dramatic works, she explores the complexity of migrants' lives in a world that often demands oversimplified narratives.
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