Headlands Center for the Arts

Artist Statement

My writing is inspired by my culture and heritage. Egyptians are storytellers by nature, and I’m fascinated by ancient Egyptian epics and sagas recorded on temples’ walls. Our long history, especially the periods in which the country was a cosmopolitan nation, is an amazing source for my imagination. I write stories featuring MENA and SWANA women through our glories and our defeats. Themes like belonging, immigration, food, war, and love often center my work. 

While at Headlands

My time at Headlands will focus on writing The Dew of Men, a historical-fiction novel set in Egypt from 1946 to 1973. The story follows three families of different faiths. While the story follows members of each family, I focus on the friendship that binds the female protagonists together through the transformation of Cairo’s blissful landscape into a worn-torn land. Even though their bond is tested by twenty-seven years of tension, they cherish each other.

The protagonist of the story, Otta, is based on my mother and her family. My mom’s struggles and hardships are intertwined with the tragic historical events that Egypt persevered through.

Selected Work

Dina Mousa, Dye, 2022.

Dina Mousa, Heat in the Kitchen, 2022.

Dina Mousa, Purity in Eid, 2021.

Dina Mousa, The Sun Bird and Fatuma, 2014.