Mariam C. Said | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Native name | مريم سعيد |
| Born | Beirut, Lebanon |
Mariam C. Said (Arabic: مريم سعيد) is an American writer and activist.
Mariam C. Said was born and raised in Beirut, Lebanon, to Quaker parents who were of Lebanese and Palestinian origin. Her father, Emile Cortas, was the leading figure of the Quaker community in Lebanon and founder of the canning company Cortas.[1][2] She holds an undergraduate degree from the American University of Beirut (AUB) in Lebanon and two graduate degrees from Columbia University. For more than 20 years, she worked in the financial services industry in New York City.[3]
In 2009, Said published the critically acclaimed memoir, A World I Loved: The Story of an Arab Woman by her mother Wadad Makdisi Cortas.[4][citation needed] Said collaborated with Vanessa Redgrave to conceive and create a theatre production based on the memoir. The success of its premiere at the Brighton Festival in 2012 led to a performance at the Miller Theatre in New York.[4]
Said is the Vice-President of the Barenboim-Said Foundation (USA) and co-steward of the Barenboim-Said Akademie.[5]
She is a founding member of the board of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.
She serves in the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra (WEDO) which was founded by her husband Edward Said and the musician Daniel Barenboim, as well as Senza Frontiere in Italy and the Alumni Association of North America, American University of Beirut.[6]
She serves on the boards on several organisations including the Freedom Theatre in Jenin, Palestine and ArteEast in New York.
In recognition of her dedication to the continuing success of the WEDO, Said received an honorary doctorate from the Universidad Nacional de Tres de Febrero Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2014.[7] In a 2012 interview with the Wiener Zeitung, she described the philosophy of the WEDO and the BSA as follows:
“Think of the principle of counterpoint: single voices are recognized as independent objects. The final result is harmony on a higher level. We are not a political but a cultural and humanitarian project. Understanding is the start of reducing mistrust. We are the microcosm of a society that does not exist yet.”[8]
Said was married to the late academic and writer Edward Said.
She has two children, the author Najla Said and a son, Wadie who is a law professor.[9]