Bina Shah, "Weeds and Flowers" (Spring, 2020)

Bina Shah speaks to managing editor Emily Everett about her short story “Weeds and Flowers,” which appears in Issue 19 of The Common magazine. In this conversation, Shah talks about how the people she observes and encounters in her life in Karachi, Pakistan, inspire her work in fiction. She also discusses her 2018 feminist dystopian novel Before She Sleeps, and the sequel she’s working on now, in addition to her work as a journalist.

Bina Shah is a Karachi-based author of five novels and two collections of short stories, including the feminist dystopia Before She Sleeps, published in 2018. Her work has appeared in Granta, The New York Times, and Pakistan’s biggest English-language newspaper, Dawn, as well as other international newspapers and journals.

Read “Weeds and Flowers” by Bina Shah at thecommononline.org/weeds-and-flowers.

Learn more about Bina Shah and her work at thefeministani.wordpress.com, and find her novel Before She Sleeps here.

Follow Bina Shah on Twitter at twitter.com/BinaShah.

The Common is a print and online literary magazine publishing stories, essays, and poems that deepen our collective sense of place. On our podcast and in our pages, The Common features established and emerging writers from around the world. Read more and subscribe to the magazine at thecommononline.org, and follow us on Twitter @CommonMag.

Emily Everett is managing editor of the magazine and host of the podcast. Her stories appear in the Kenyon Review, Electric Literature, Tin House Online, and Mississippi Review. She holds an MA in literature from Queen Mary University of London, and a BA from Smith College. Say hello on Twitter @Public_Emily.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literature