Pakistani fiction writer (and IBA alumna) Farah Ali for the launch of People Want to Live
Date: Friday, 26th November 2021
Time: 4:00 PM
Venue: Aman CED Seminar Room 3
November 26, 2021: The IBA's School of Economics and Social Sciences hosted Pakistani fiction writer (and IBA alumna) Farah Ali for the launch of People Want to Live, her debut collection of short stories set in Pakistan. Faculty members and students joined to listen to Farah Ali discussing all things literature, fiction writing, and publishing.
About the book:
People Want to Live (out now from McSweeney’s), Farah Ali’s debut collection, features stories of togetherness and reckless faith in the face of a world that’s built to break us.
Set in Pakistan, these award-winning stories follow people living on the brink of abandonment—in their personal relationships and their place in the world. A mother, coping with the sudden death of her son, uncovers long-buried secrets in his absence. An anguished girl grabs a chance for a life beyond the orphanage walls where she lives, and discovers the price of freedom. A young couple tries to keep their fraught relationship intact as a heat wave engulfs their city. A son returns to visit his aging parents while beset with memories of a troubled childhood. And two thieves find themselves in a situation more precarious by the minute, and more dangerous than their original mission.
Ali’s characters battle loneliness and, in their fight, reveal surprising vulnerabilities and an astonishing measure of hope.
About the author:
Farah Ali is from Karachi, Pakistan, and completed her undergraduate studies at IBA. Her work won the 2020 Pushcart Prize and received special mention in the 2018 Pushcart anthology. Her more recent stories can be found in Shenandoah, The Arkansas International, The Southern Review, and Kenyon Review online. People Want to Live is her debut short-story collection.
