When I was a child, I was asked — as children are — what I wanted to be when I grew up. I suppose I had the usual sort of answers: a ballerina, a musician, a veterinarian. I didn’t really know what I wanted, and the question remained unclear for a long time, even after I had spent many years in the world of work. Now at last, in my mid-fifties, I can answer the question with more conviction. I know what I would like to be when I grow up. I haven’t a prayer — any more than I had a prayer of becoming a ballerina or a pianist or a veterinarian. Nevertheless, when I grow up, I would like to be Radwa Ashour.
A tribute by Barbara Romaine to Radwa Ashour ( 1946-2014). May she rest in peace. I will miss her beautiful prose. https://arablit.wordpress.com/2014/04/16/i-would-like-to-be-radwa-ashour/