Ghada al-Samman's father was Ahmed Al-Samman, a president of the Syrian University.
10 Facts About Ghada al-Samman
2.
Ghada al-Samman is distantly related to poet Nizar Qabbani, and was deeply influenced by him after her mother died at a very young age.
3.
Ghada al-Samman's father was fond of both Western literature and Arabic literature; this influenced her deeply and gave her a unique style that combines attributes of both.
4.
Ghada al-Samman published her first book of short stories Your Eyes Are My Destiny in 1962, which was received reasonably well.
5.
Ghada al-Samman graduated from the Syrian University in 1963 with a BA in English literature, and left to Beirut to earn her master's degree in theatre from the American University of Beirut, after which she did not return to Damascus.
6.
Ghada al-Samman then traveled around Europe working as a correspondent and in 1966 published her third collection Foreigners' Nights.
7.
Ghada al-Samman published her first novel, Beirut 75, at the end of 1974.
8.
Ghada al-Samman has written a few books of literary criticism, and translated some of her works to other languages.
9.
Ghada al-Samman has lived in Paris since the mid-1980s and regularly writes in an Arabic magazine published in London.
10.
Ghada al-Samman now refuses requests for TV interviews after a bad experience when she was interviewed in Cairo, and found out that the interviewer had not read any of her works.