Rayya El Zein is an independent writer and researcher. A Palestinian and Lebanese American mother and daughter, her recent writing explores return, yearning, and other frameworks of belonging and becoming. In Filling the Head (Indiana University Press, 2025; the87press, 2026), she listens to the experiences of rappers and their audiences in three Arab cities as they search for ways to engage the political beyond the framework of resistance. She holds a PhD in Theatre and Performance from the Graduate Center, City University of New York.

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• AcknowledgmentsNote on TransliterationIntro: Learning to ListenChapter 1: RevoltingChapter 2: IstifzazChapter 3: ListeningChapter 4: YearningOutro: Politics in MotionAppendixNotesBibliographyIndex

Rayya El Zein is an independent writer and researcher. A Palestinian and Lebanese American mother and daughter, her recent writing explores return, yearning, and other frameworks of belonging and becoming. In Filling the Head (Indiana University Press, 2025; the87press, 2026), she listens to the experiences of rappers and their audiences in three Arab cities as they search for ways to engage the political beyond the framework of resistance. She holds a PhD in Theatre and Performance from the Graduate Center, City University of New York.

Select Guide Rating

• AcknowledgmentsNote on TransliterationIntro: Learning to ListenChapter 1: RevoltingChapter 2: IstifzazChapter 3: ListeningChapter 4: YearningOutro: Politics in MotionAppendixNotesBibliographyIndex