Thursday, March 16, 2023 | 7pm to 9pm
Viva La Heights
78-13 Roosevelt Avenue, Queens
Join Kew & Willow Books for a celebration of Bushra Rehman’s novel Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion, an unforgettable story about female friendship and queer desire in a Pakistani-American community in Corona, Queens. This celebration will feature some of Queens most celebrated and beloved writers including Bushra Rehman, Christine Kandic Torres, Jai Dulani, Joseph O. Legaspi, Nadia Q. Ahmad, Patricia Park, Soniya Munshi!
Music: DJ Rekha and friends
Description of Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion: Razia Mirza grows up amid the wild grape vines and backyard sunflowers of Corona, Queens, with her best friend, Saima, by her side. When a family rift drives the girls apart, Razia’s heart is broken. She finds solace in Taslima, a new girl in the neighborhood. They embark on a series of small rebellions: listening to scandalous music, wearing mini skirts, and cutting school to explore the city.
When Razia is accepted to Stuyvesant, a prestigious high school in Manhattan, the gulf between her and her world in Queens, between the person she is and the daughter her parents want her to be, widens. At Stuyvesant, Razia meets Angela and is attracted to her in a way that blossoms into a new understanding. When their relationship is discovered by an Aunty in the community, Razia must choose between her family and her own future.
Punctuated by both joy and loss, full of ’80s music and beloved novels, Roses, in the Mouth of a Lion is a new classic: a fiercely compassionate coming-of-age story of a girl struggling to reconcile her heritage and faith with her desire to be true to herself.
Co-Sponsor
Asian American / Asian Research Institute – CUNY
