May 17 — Arab Wor(l)d Bank

by Kareem Ayas | edited by Terry Sun

Kareem Ayas is a high school teacher of English Literature living in Harlem, NY. He grew up in Syria and Lebanon, and moved to the U.S. in 2014, but it wasn't until 2021 that he discovered crossword construction. Since then, he has been published in the New York Times, USA Today, Puzzmo, Universal, AVCX and The New Yorker among many others. Exposing solvers to his culture is a crucial part of Kareem's ethos, a fact evident via his inclusion of Arabic words, phrases and foods in his crosswords as well as his contribution to Puzzles for Palestine 2 and most recently APIH Minis!

A note from Kareem: While mini and midi puzzles may seem like they take less time to make (and they do), the process still requires a lot of focus to make all entries clean, accessible, and full of voice.

Thanks to Alisya and Terry for this wonderful project, and for including Arabs in this month. As members of underrepresented communities, no matter what the world thinks, no matter where your art ends up, despite the uphill battle, we must demand representation. Free Lebanon. Free Palestine. With love, thank you for solving.