Shahd Alshammari

Shahd Alshammari

Shahd Alshammari is Assistant Professor of English Literature in Kuwait. She is also the author of Notes on the Flesh (2017, Faraxa Press). The book was featured in many academic journals and was reviewed by disability studies scholars as well as gender studies scholars. Her essays have appeared in The Journal of Literary and Cultural Disability Studies, Life Writing, Al-Raida, Wordgathering, and others. Alshammari’s struggle with Multiple Sclerosis has propelled her to write about illness in the MENA region both academically and creatively. Her PhD thesis centered on madwomen protagonists in Western and Arab literature and later her interest shifted to women’s disabilities and illness and the lack of representation in literature and media. She was also an invited speaker at The Malta Book Festival as well as The Emirates Literature Festival. She gives many lectures in the region on writing and illness and the representation of women. In 2019, she received The Social Impact Award from the British Council Alumni Awards. Many students in the region follow Alshammari’s work and are able to relate to her struggles. Most of the lectures she has given involve university students and graduate students attending in order to search for their voices and experiences being represented. She had published poetry collections including On Love and Loss, Forget the Words, The Secret of 50/50. Her poetry collections have sold more than ten thousand copies in the Middle East. She is an active member of the community and is currently working on becoming certified in Narrative Therapy to be able to help others use storytelling as a tool to narrate trauma.