Bushra Rehman is a Pakistani Muslim-American novelist best known for her Lambda Literary Award-nominated[1] novel Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion and short story Corona.[2]

Bushra Rehman
BornNew York City
LanguageEnglish
Genrecontemporary
Years active2018-now
Notable worksRoses, in the Mouth of a Lion
Website
bushrarehman.com

Early life edit

Bushra Rehman grew up in Corona,[3] Queens close to one of the first Sunni masjids in NYC.[2] She says the first book that made an impact on her is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.[4]

She originally began her writing career as a poet and has worked as a poetry teacher.[3]

Rehman identifies as queer.[3]

Selected works edit

In 2002, Rehma co-created the anthology Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today’s Feminism with Daisy Hernández, as a response to the hate crimes against people of color she and her co-creator witnessed in NYC post 9/11.[5]

Rehman's novel Roses in the Mouth, is loosely based on her own experience growing up in Corona, Queens in the 1980s and learning more about her own queer identity.[3][4] Inspired by the strength of the friendships with other girls she had growng up, she set out writing Roses in the Mouth to celebrate those friendships.[5] Rehman says grief is an important theme in the novel.[5] The New Yorker named it one of the best books of 2022.[6] It was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award in the category Bisexual Fiction.[1]

Complete Bibliography edit

Anthologies:

Colonize This! Young Women of Color on Today’s Feminism (Seal Press, 2002)[7]

Novels:

Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion (Flatiron, 2022)[8]

Poetry:

Marianna's Beauty Salon (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2018)[9]

Short stories

Corona (Sibling Rivalry Press, 2013)[10]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Lewis, LeKesha (2023-03-20). "Announcing the 35th Annual Lammy Awards Finalists". Lambda Literary. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  2. ^ a b "Bushra Rehman". APL. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  3. ^ a b c d "Bushra Rehman". www.arts.gov. 2023-03-14. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  4. ^ a b "The Book Pages Q&A: Bushra Rehman shares her favorite books, fairy-tale curses". Orange County Register. 2022-12-03. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  5. ^ a b c ""We Made This Home." Three Homegrown Queens Authors on the Importance of Centering Marginalized Voices in the New York Novel". Literary Hub. 2023-06-08. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  6. ^ Yorker, The New (2023-01-16). "Briefly Noted". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved 2023-12-07.
  7. ^ https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/daisy-hernandez/colonize-this/9781580057769/?lens=seal-press
  8. ^ https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250834782/rosesinthemouthofalion
  9. ^ https://siblingrivalrypress.bigcartel.com/product/marianna-s-beauty-salon-by-bushra-rehman
  10. ^ https://siblingrivalrypress.bigcartel.com/product/corona-by-bushra-rehman