Stories My Father Told Me by author and artist Helen Zughaib
Stories My Father Told Me: Memories of a Childhood in Syria and Lebanon contains 24 full color plates of original artwork by the established Arab American artist Helen Zughaib and accompany her father Elia Zughaib’s family stories of his childhood in Syria and Lebanon in the 1930s.
In a world driven by power, money, and the pursuit of personal success, Helen and her father Elia have given us a glimpse of an intact society stretched to the limit yet surviving with all the strands of its fabric securely in place. Their deceptively simple work carries a profound message for our time.
In counterpoint to Helen’s artwork, Elia Zughaib’s stories portray with rich cultural detail the traditions and lifestyle of a previous era. Evocative, full of wisdom and humor, they offer fascinating glimpses into Syrian and Lebanese Christian traditions, folk culture, and daily life.
Helen’s art in review: “Like dreaming in color.” “Her perfectly patterned visual images create a path of radiance.” “Her images magically carry us into distant places of beauty, joy, devotion, and love.”
Elia’s text in review: “Stories of a people who survive political turmoil and uncertain times with humor, grace, and empathy—all rooted in unconditional love.” “Elia and Helen Zughaib have created a cure for xenophobia.”
Elia Zughaib was born in 1927 in Damascus and grew up in Syria and Lebanon in the 1930s before coming to America in 1946 to study at Syracuse University. He received his PhD in Political Science from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He joined the United States Foreign Service in 1959 and served in Lebanon, Iraq, Kuwait, and France until his retirement in 1978. He and his wife, Georgia, live in Alexandria, Virginia.
Helen Zughaib was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1959. She lived in the Middle East and Europe before coming to America in 1978 to study at Syracuse University. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the School of Visual and Performing Arts. She works primarily in gouache and ink on board and canvas.
Her work has been widely exhibited in galleries and museums in the United States, Europe and Lebanon. Her paintings are included in many private and public collections, including the White House, World Bank, Library of Congress, US Consulate General, Vancouver, Canada, American Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq, the Arab American National Museum in, Michigan, and the DC Art Bank collection.
Stories My Father Told Me: Memories of a Childhood in Syria and Lebanon is available on Amazon, at bookstores, and from www.cunepress.com.
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Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.
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