And that is where Arab American writing, as it stood prior to 1990, fails, and fails miserably. Academic writing is, by nature, often dry and uninviting. And Arab American academic writing, in particular, has brought this dryness to new heights. It is written to address a very narrow academic audience, although the arrogance of the Arab American academic world allows the writers to believe that the average American will pick up their books. Academic writing is therefore not real literature.
Real literature appeals to the widest and most general audience possible.
It succeeds by establishing an immediate connection between the story and the person reading. It is only in that connection that tragedies can be understood. We Arabs love to read about ourselves. Most Americans do not. The Novel can be a very effective vehicle to convey a story to the American audience.