Maitham Salman
Maitham Salman (born 1970, Iraq) is a fiction writer who has lived in Canada since 1998. A graduate of the University of Baghdad, College of Arts (1994), he is the author of three Arabic books: Husks as Big as My Country (novel, 2011), The Dirhams of Caliphate (short stories, 2012), and Iraqi Romeo (short stories, 2022). His English contributions include Home: Stories Connecting Us All (2018) and Beyond the Food Court (Laberinto Press, 2020). Salman's stories and essays have been featured widely in Arabic publications and in The Malahat Review. A former participant in the Borderlines Writer-in-Exile program (2013–2014), he received an Edmonton Arts Council grant in 2013 to complete a short story collection. He is a member of the Writers’ Guild of Alberta.
Origins: Masgouf is the typical Iraqi dish reminiscent of my home country; more so than any other Iraqi dishes. I had enjoyed Masgouf before leaving Iraq for good at the age of twenty-seven. Masgouf, or grilling fish in Masgouf style, is never found in any food court. This national dish has been part of the Mesopotamian kitchen for thousands of years rooted in the Sumerian civilization from Southern Iraq.
– Masgouf, the Crown of Iraqui Cuisine, Beyond the Food Court