Muna Imady

Muna Imady (1962-2016) was born in Damascus to a Syrian father and an American mother. She earned a BA in English Literature and a diploma in English-Arabic translation from Damascus University, as well as a Maîtrise from the Sorbonne. Passionate about language education, she developed beginner English reading courses and authored ESL textbooks for children, while also translating short children's stories for Arabic-language magazines. A lifelong lover of oral tradition, she devoted years to collecting folktales from Syria's diverse ethnic communities, driven by a fear that the ongoing civil war would cause the loss of her country's unique cultural heritage. Her first collection, Syrian Folktales (MSI Press), received the 2014 MSI Press award for best-reviewed book. Her expanded collection, Kan Ya Ma Kan: Folktales and Recipes of Syria and Its Ethnic Groups, was completed and edited by her mother Elaine and sister Susan following Muna's death in Damascus on April 22, 2016, at the age of 53.