George Haddad
George Haddad is a Sydney based writer and artist whose debut book Populate and Perish was the 2016 Viva La Novella prizewinner. His short story Kátharsis was awarded the 2018 Neilma Sidney prize. Haddad’s work can be read at Overland, The Lifted Brow, Seizure, Runway and un Magazine. Other works have been exhibited at Firstdraft, ReadingRoom, Kudos and Metro Arts. He is currently a doctoral candidate at the Writing and Society Centre, Western Sydney University.
All essays by George Haddad
Uprooted
I have a beard. A thick black beard, a monobrow, a shark-fin nose, and caramel skin. I look undeniably Arab. I’ve been held-up in airports in L.A, Tel Aviv and Wellington. I speak Arabic, I wear a gold chain that Mum bought me from Tripoli, I have a tattoo of Horus on one arm and a Phoenician sun symbol on the other. When people ask where I am from, I say Australia. When they ask what my ethnicity is, I say Lebanese. I look Lebanese, I sound Australian.