Wordman Quotes

“I was hostile, and I had every right to be. Middle school didn't make any sense. If you were mean, people liked you. If you were nice, people were mean. If you teased girls, they smiled and laughed. If you complimented them, they frowned and walked away. If you were bad in class, you were hailed in the hallway. If you were good in class, you were bullied in the locker room. The pretty girls dated the ugly boys, and the only friends you had were the ones you didn't want.”
― Yousef Alqamoussi, Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging

“Words were magic. They healed me when I was sick, comforted me when I was scared, and guided me when I was lost and alone...When confused, I consulted the Qur'an through kheerah. When thirsty, I drank from the brass cup inscribed with the Throne Verse. If I lost something, I incanted the besmalah and I would find it. We hung calligraphy on the walls and wore jewelry with Islamic inscriptions. When we entered the house, we announced our arrival with "Salam" so that evil spirits would flee.”
― Yousef Alqamoussi, Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging

“Anything can be a microphone.”
― Yousef Alqamoussi, Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging

“Pizza is complicated.”
― Yousef Alqamoussi, Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging

“I want to teach more than one hundred fifty kids a day," I told Adam. "I want to teach 150,000 kids a day.”
― Yousef Alqamoussi, Hadha Baladuna: Arab American Narratives of Boundary and Belonging