With the support of the University of Toledo College of Arts and Letters. the 20th annual Mikhail Memorial Lecture was held virtually in a video conferencing format for the first time in the series’ history on December 8, 2020. Acclaimed author Laila Lalami delivered the 2020 Mikhail Memorial Lecture, titled, “Memory and Erasure” during which she reflected and read selections from her latest nonfiction release, Conditional Citizens.
During the spring semester, the Mikhail Fund further supported classroom visits with Lalami and University of Toledo professors and students.
Laila Lalami was born in Rabat and educated in Morocco, Great Britain, and the United States. She is the author of four novels, including The Moor’s Account, which won the American Book Award, the Arab-American Book Award, the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Fiction. Her most recent novel, The Other Americans, was a national bestseller and a finalist for the Kirkus Prize and the National Book Award in Fiction. Her essays and criticism have appeared in the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, The Nation, Harper’s, the Guardian, and the New York Times. She has received fellowships from the British Council, the Fulbright Program, and the Guggenheim Foundation and is currently a full professor of creative writing at the University of California at Riverside. She lives in Los Angeles. Her new book, a work of nonfiction called Conditional Citizens, was published by Pantheon in September 2020.
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The Mikhail Endowment Fund was originally established through a donation from the Mikhail family to honor the work and contributions of Maryse Mikhail and her involvement in educational, philanthropic and interfaith organizations. The main purpose of the fund is to support an annual lecture dealing with Arab culture, history, politics, economics, and other aspects of life in the Middle East including issues of peace and justice. More information about the Lecture Series is available at mikhaillecture.org.
Whether or not you are able to join us, we hope you will consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the fund to help ensure the continuation of the lecture series for years to come. Any amount is welcome, and checks should be made payable to the UT Foundation with a notation of the Maryse and Ramzy Mikhail Endowment Fund (#1301-005). Gifts may be sent to The University of Toledo Foundation, P.O. Box 586, Toledo, OH, 43607-0586. Secure online gifts may be made at give2UT.utoledo.edu.
Maryse and Ramzy Mikhail Memorial Lecture 