Voice of America-Interview November 2006

Abdullah Interviewed by Voice of America

Shaila Abdullah, author of Beyond the Cayenne Wall, a collection of short stories, was recently interviewed by Voice of America for their program Beyond the Headlines. The show was aired on Tuesday, December 13 on GEO TV. Brent Hurd, the reporter from VOA interviewed Abdullah and some reviewers and mentors in her life.

"Shaila does something extremely interesting," reported Carol Ikard, a long time friend and mentor, during the interview. "Good writers produce sensory images.  Shaila goes beyond that in that she can create ‘proprioception.’  She can evoke an involuntary physical response when people read her stories.  You feel sick at heart, or you feel a chill from something that feels very foreign to you at times.  That is rare to find in an artist."

Beyond the Headlines (Khabron se Aage) is a fast-paced, contemporary production designed with young and urban Pakistanis in mind. It continues VOA's 63-year tradition of broadcasting accurate and balanced information. Programs examine international developments, technology, politics, social issues, education, religion, sports, and entertainment.The half-hour program airs on GEO TV in Pakistan and on selected international satellites, including AsiaSat and IOR.

Abdullah's book, Beyond the Cayenne Wall, received the Jury Prize for Outstanding Fiction in the 2005 Norumbega Fiction Awards. The book focuses on Pakistani women struggling to find their individualities despite the barriers imposed by society.

Shirley Hord, an author and reviewer of Abdullah's book states, “I think that if we can understand better how the every day person in Pakistan and other eastern countries live, what they think or what is influencing their thinking, then we would certainly be in a much stronger position to be able to interact with them and have a better reciprocal relationship."