The Center for Contemporary Arab Studies and the Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies proudly present The Hidden Light of Objects by Mai Al-Nakib. The headlines tell of war, unrest, and religious clashes. But if you look beyond them you may see another side of life in the Middle East—adolescent love, yearnings for independence, the fragility of marriage, pain of the most quotidian kind. The loosely linked short stories in The Hidden Light of Objects carefully trace overlooked moments in the lives of those who reside in this fraught region of the world—and the power of objects to hold extraordinary memories.  Join Kuwaiti author Mai Al-Nakib as she discusses her collection and the experience of living and writing in the Middle East.