The word "meena" means port, or port-of-entry, in Arabic, and that is exactly what we would like Meena to be: a port between our cities, our countries, our languages, our cultures. "We" are a group of writers and artists based in the port cities of New Orleans and Alexandria but from all over the United States and Egypt (and beyond) who want to share our work with each other and with you.   

Much of our first issue deals with conflict or, more specifically, war. It is a difficult topic to avoid, and we thought it might be best addressed from the start. We agree with Dr. Salma Khadra Jayyusi, founder and director of PROTA (Project of Translation from the Arabic), who says if we read one another, we will be less likely to kill one another. It is our sincere hope that Meena is a port to enter one another's worlds, one that can help us understand and, perhaps even more importantly, hear each other. There may be an ocean between us, but there need not be a wall.

We are all working for the love and faith in the project and, therefore, would like to extend a plea to those who also believe in this project to help support it. Highest on our priority list is the need for more translators, but we would also love help with copy editing, getting the word (and the magazine) out and covering basic costs such as printing. We will be publishing biannually, insha allah, with the hope to increase production sometime in the future. Please feel free to contact us with any questions. Welcome to Meena!