Read Beneath the Lion's Gaze Online
Authors: Maaza Mengiste
Beneath the Lion's Gaze (39 page)
Though the act of writing is solitary, completing any book is the result of the kindness of many. My love goes to my wonderful parents, Mengiste Imru and Yayne Abeba Abebe, for their unfailing support. I am indebted to my brother, Tedros Mengiste, and his wife, Anketse Debebe Kassa, for their leap of faith. I am forever humbled by the wondrous generosity of Mr. and Mrs. Phil and Mary Roden and my dear friend Molly Roden Winter.
A warm thank you to two who guided me through my years at the NYU Creative Writing Program, Melissa Hammerle and Russell Carmony; bravo for creating a wonderful community that allowed so many to feel at home. My gratitude to Breyten Breytenbach, who taught me to trust my vision; to Irini Spanidou, for friendship, honesty, and unwavering encouragement; to Chuck Wachtel, who kindly agreed to be my thesis advisor despite an inhuman workload. My thanks to the director of the NYU Creative Writing Program, Dr. Deborah Landau, for championing my work. A special thank you to the NYU Expository Writing Program and Pat Hoy, for helping me understand what it takes to be a better writer. I am grateful to VONA Voices Workshop for creating a space where so many writers of color can gather and share their stories.
I am so thankful to my wonderful agent, Maria Massie, who believed in this book before it was anything and had faith in my ability to see it through. A loud round of applause to her assistant Rachel Vogel for dedicated attention to all the little details. I am grateful to my skilled editor, Jill Bialosky, who guided this book with sure and steady focus, and to her assistant, Adrienne Davich, for keeping me on schedule and on track with professionalism and warmth. To everyone at W.W. Norton, a heartfelt thanks for the willingness to take this novel on.
I would have stumbled many times if not for the support and insight of my friends. Many, many thanks to the immensely talented members of the best writing group in the world: Katie Berg, Olivia Birdsall, Nicole Hefner Callihan, and Cleyvis Natera. I am profoundly grateful to Breyten Breytenbach’s Fall 2004 fiction workshop for that crisp November night when you saw my first rough ideas and offered gentle but honest critiques: Ryan Sloan, Nat Bennett, Eric Ozawa, P.J.
Bordeau
, Chris Mahar, Ethan Bernard, Luke Fiske, Thomas Hopkins, Martin Marks, Dominique Bell. I owe much to Uwem Akpan, Getachew Abera, Professor Yacob Fisseha and the Michigan State University African Studies Center, Peter Limb at the Michigan State University Library and the staff at the Special Collections Division, Professor Solomon Getahun, Professor Tibebe Eshete, Mahlet Tsegaye and the family of the late Ethiopian Poet Laureate Tsegaye Gebremedhin, Makonnen Ketema, Tarekegn Gebreyesus, Debrework Zewdie, my uncle Ayalew Abebe, Yemane Demissie, Marty McClatchey, Laila Lalami, Mylitta Chaplain, Sarida Scott, Rebekah Anderson, Matt Gilgoff, Debut Lit, the Prague Summer Program, the Virginia Center for the Arts, Yaddo, Bill and Carol Freeman at the Borland House, and Drs. Glenn Hirsch and Tim Muir. My eternal love and gratitude goes to my anchor and light on those toughest of days, Marco Fernando Navarro.
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Copyright © Maaza Mengiste 2010
Maaza Mengiste has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work
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First published in Great Britain in 2010 by
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