Joy in Writing: The Mary Higgins Clark Keynote featuring Saladin Ahmed

~ Allison Schneider

Participants on Zoom sent a wave of emojis expressing their thanks to Saladin for his words of wisdom.

On October 23rd, Fordham students and faculty had the pleasure of hearing from award-winning writer Saladin Ahmed at the annual Mary Higgins Clark Keynote Address. Ahmed’s writing and success transcends genre. His published works include various poems, a science fiction novel, several short stories, and numerous graphic novels, including a substantial collection of Marvel comics. 

In anticipation of his visit, Fordham English majors received free copies of one of Ahmed’s most popular comics, Miles Morales Vol. 1: Straight Out of Brooklyn. The graphic novel deals with several important themes including friendship, family, and writing. The comic also exemplifies a key component of Ahmed’s work: the incorporation of social justice issues. In particular, Miles Morales confronts the problem of anti-immigration sentiment in New York City, teaching readers valuable lessons about the history of New York’s immigrant roots. 

Saladin Ahmed addresses students during his keynote address.

Ahmed began his remarks by talking about growing up in the Arab American immigrant enclave of Dearborn, Michigan and how growing up in a working-class community subject to various forms of racism and social barriers impacted his perspective on life. “While I didn’t grow up around people who think of themselves as having the potential to be a writer, I did grow up around storytellers,” Ahmed said. “Whether or not people value the written word, they value the ability to tell stories, and I found that I was good at telling stories.” He expressed gratitude to his father for encouraging him to read and write stories from a young age. Ahmed also reflected on the Arabic tradition of poetry and oral storytelling, which has inspired him throughout his career.

Ahmed continued to speak about the importance of storytelling in politically troubling times. “We have to remember as we face these incredibly massive forces who aren’t interested in art or human warmth, one of the few things we can still do is tell each other stories. It keeps us going, and I try to do that in my own work.” He wrapped up his address by reading from one of his short stories titled “Clay and Smokeless Fire.” Ahmed’s creativity is palpable in the story as the main character Qumqam, who is a supernatural being from Islamic mythology called a djinn, watches the humans of America squander the earth. Ahmed’s reading crossed over into performance territory as he changed his voice, expressions, and hand gestures to bring his characters to life. As Ahmed finished his reading, heart emojis sent by event attendees lit up the Zoom screen as students applauded his speech and his reading. 

Ahmed reads from his story “Clay and Smokeless Fire.”

As the Creative Writing Program Assistant I had the great pleasure of asking Saladin some questions about his work and his life during the Q&A portion of the event. During this time, Ahmed hit on something I think may be the most important part of writing: joy. He stressed the importance of staying hopeful about the world and finding joy and fulfillment in what you write about. When asked what helps him stay motivated and inspired, Ahmed talked about his twin sons and how thinking about the next generation of artists and writers bring him hope for the future. It is inspiring, he said, “watching my kids, and representative of their generation…make their own art and tell their own stories.”