Literature: The antidote to the Pakistani identity crisis

In this edition of The Journal of Commonwealth Literature (JCL 49:1; March 2014), we are proud to offer a Guest Editorial by the Pakistani fiction writer and journalist Bina Shah. Bina is a columnist and novelist who lives in Karachi; she is the author of six novels and short story collections, and has recently been appointed a monthly contributing op-ed writer for the International New York Times. Her interests range from literature and the arts to women’s rights, religion, society, and technology, especially in her native Pakistan. She holds degrees from Wellesley College and the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and is a fellow of the University of Iowa from its International Writers Program. In this editorial, she explores the issue of identity, and minority identity in particular, as it is represented in fiction by Pakistani authors.