Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—Booklyn, New York City, New York, USA
• Education—B.A., B.S., M.A., North Carolina State University
• Currently—lives in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina
Etaf Rum was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, to Palestinian parents. Raised in a traditional family, she married young, moved to North Carolina where, at the age of 19, she gave birth to her daughter and to her son two years later.
Echoes of Rum's experience can be found in her debut novel, A Woman Is Not a Man (2019). Frustrated by the restrictions on her life and wondering why she could not pursue the kinds of things a man could, her grandmother told her, "Because. You can't do this because you're not a man."
Rejecting that dictum, Rum enrolled in North Carolina State University, where she earned a B.A. in English Language and Literature, a B.S. in Philosophy, and an M.A. in American and British Literature and Philosophy.
As she told NPR's Scott Simon,
I maintained my education despite the pressures around me to stay home and take care of my kids, and slowly, as I educated myself… I began to realize my place in the community and the cycle of trauma and oppression that I [would] be giving my daughter—if I don't speak up for what I want to accomplish with my life, if I don't stand up for myself.
In the interview, Rum went on to talk about the price she has paid for her independence: she is divorced, "with no sense of family," and believes she has let down those who needed her most.
Rum now teaches undergraduate courses at two community colleges near where she lives in North Carolina with her children. She runs the Instagram account @booksandbeans and is also a Book of the Month Club Ambassador, where she writes about her favorite books each month. (Adapted from various online sources. Retrieved 3/4/2019.)