Posted on by Erica Firment

Maysan Haydar is Cool

My friend Maysan Haydar has always been cool. She introduced me to Bratmobile and Swing dancing back when such things were hip. She got a tongue ring before everyone else. She was the first person I knew to dye her hair purple.

She escaped from Flint, majored in Linguistics and moved to NYC to write for The Nation. Now she’s a social worker. Oh. And she wears the hijab. Here’s an excerpt from an article she wrote for the book Body Outlaws about why she wears the veil, and what it’s been like.

Related posts:

Chess with the President, Bake Sales Default ThumbnailEscape from Flint nonsensical header imageThoughts on 37 Default ThumbnailBooks, Life

9 Replies to “Maysan Haydar is Cool”

  1. So I had never heard of Maysan Haydar before reading the essay ” Veiled Intention: Don’t judge a Muslim Girl by Her Covering” by her in my English textbook. I thought it to be most excellent and a refreshing point of veiw. From what I gather this woman is very high on the scale of coolness. I wish the best luck with all of her writing endeavors.

  3. Maysan is my wonderful (and way cool) daughter in law. This was the first that I knew about her tongue ring, hmmmm. I adore her. She is also the mother of my first grandchild. I hope that she may pursue her writing soon. Maysan has so much to offer our world.

  4. Maysan Haydar is nothing but cool. She folded most of the pages for my self published novel AND subletted my apartment while I went on a reading tour, which meant I could almost afford to go on a reading tour. She’s a great coworker and a great friend.

  6. I am pleased to see Maysan is doing well for herself! We were great friends in high school and lost touch. You are right though–she was cool. She always had the best shoes, accessories, and of course, sense of humor. If you see her or talk to her, have her get in touch!

  7. Hi,

    I found your site to be very informative and interesting. Your comments about social issues were enlightening. Also, it was a nice surprise to see Mayson on a website. We had a class together at UofM flint last semester.

  9. Hey, who says swing isn’t hip!?! (sure it’s not mainstream – but that’s a dif issue)

    And yes your friend does appear to be very cool and so does that book.

Comments are closed.