Music Articles (Lyrics)
Find the e-book at mikrotext’s website and read a 2014 ArabLit interview with Muhammad Aladdin here. It begins: It was love at first sight.We can think of no better way to describe what befell Usta Hamzah when he first set eyes on the leather jacket—of that shade dark brown people sometimes refer to as “burnt”—
Continue reading Lit & Found: Muhammad Aladdin’s ‘Season of Migration to Arkadia’
There were a couple of series by the Egyptian author Nabil Farouk. One of the earliest books I read cover to cover was 1984. We have some textbooks on art. It definitely has to do with the kind of things we like to read, and our criteria as well of what is good literature and
This is running simultaneously at arabook.it, where you can read it in Italian. This is Seif’s first experiment with long-form work; previously, he has mainly worked on short visual stories. The chosen colors reinforce the narrative: in the flashbacks that characterize the story, we find a predominance of black and white, and then we move into
The longlisted titles were written by authors from nine countries, with three titles each by Egyptian and Syrian authors. The longlist was chosen from amongst 122 entries. According to a news release, the year’s novels “cover an extensive range of topics, from the struggle for artists to survive while facing war and
Continue reading International Prize for Arabic Fiction Announces 16 Titles on 2022 Longlist
Poem #10 from Ahmed Douma’s ‘Curly’ January 25, 2022January 23, 2022 by mlynxqualey By Ahmed Douma Translated by Ahmed Hassan and Elliott Colla This throng of questions wounds Especially when the situation is “silent.” Loneliness eats at my mind And so I begin to fume and babble. With no one around, I find That my
The prison experience may have stripped him of some things, but his dignity and power remain intact. The sit-in was violently dispersed and Douma was detained on charges that he had attacked the military with Molotov cocktails. Egyptians elected Mohamed Morsi in 2012, but the choice did not impress many, including Douma. While in prison,
Continue reading Let Us Spell Out Life: Prison Writing by Ahmed Douma
Come here, Child! But, as I tell my soul and its wishes, the window is merely the beginning of error. Very confusing. Take baby steps toward the doorway. This fact explodes the the jailer’s intentions and the prison’s goals, which resemble stagnation, cruelty, and hostility to life! * Elliott Colla teaches Arabic literature in Washington,
Will she complete a verb or a noun phrase—or go solo, a word complete on its own? لابدّ أن الغريبة تقتربُ، يقولون. They hear clinking— A bracelet? الكل منشغلٌ اليوم بكتابة الأمنيات في قصاصات ورقية سينثرونها للريح ولمّا تجدها الغريبةُ بطريقها تلملمُها وتصفّها بدائرتها. أحدهم يقول بأنها تبحث عن كلمة لتكوّن جملة خاصة، تلك هديتها
I also don’t think many publishing houses would be interested in manuscripts that are translated by their original authors. What is not? By Ali Shakir Trivia What does the “self” in “self-translator” stand for? Having been an architect and a painter before settling down to writing, I can say that similarities outweigh differences in all
She says that writing a poem “the second time in another language helps me understand it more and feel more confident about it. Share this:TwitterFacebookEmailPrintLinkedInRedditTumblrWhatsAppPinterestTelegramPocketSkypeLike this:Like Loading… Lyamlahy, who also shares self-translated excerpts from his novel, calls the act of self-translation “an arduous confrontation not only with the act of re-writing but also with my
I am deeply indebted to my friends Conor Bracken, Emily Cox, Jake Syersak, and Rebekah Vince, who took the time to read and comment on these excerpts at different stages. The novel depicts both the harrowing, and often humiliating, procedure of renewing a residence card, and the deeply painful process of writing a novel. My
Mona Kareem: Self-Translation Never Lands Dunya Mikhail: Writing it Twice Is the New Original Share this:TwitterFacebookEmailPrintLinkedInRedditTumblrWhatsAppPinterestTelegramPocketSkypeLike this:Like Loading… The English translation has been acquired by Pantheon Books (North America) and Granta (UK) for publication in spring 2022. You can find her work at deenadraws.art. * Also: Khalid Lyamlahy: On Self-Translating ‘A Foreign Novel’ Ali Shakir:
Whether this is a literal looking glass, a double, a replica, an echo, or some other way of interpreting MIRRORS, let us know. Mirror can be part of the form, style, or content. Sorry.We do accept:Both pitches and completed works.Yes, we do pay:$20/page Pitch us via ALQ’s Submittable. Either in Arabic or translated from Arabic
Continue reading Sunday Submissions: LAST CALL for ALQ’s Spring 2022 Issue
ArabLit Quarterly is a small operation, and every bit helps. Physical and digital options are both available. You can purchase a copy of FOLK to read along on the evening from Gumroad. You can register via EventBrite or Facebook to have a YouTube link sent by email on the day. Don’t-miss Launch Event for FOLK Issue of
Continue reading Don’t-miss Launch Event for FOLK Issue of ArabLit Quarterly
Yasmeen’s English translations of Arabic fiction have appeared in various literary journals and publications, including World Literature Today, Banipal, ArabLit Quarterly, and The Iowa Review. He has published translations of poetry from Arabic and Persian with UT Austin’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies publications program, Inventory, Transference, Jadaliyya, and ArabLit Quarterly. Share this:TwitterFacebookEmailPrintLinkedInRedditTumblrWhatsAppPinterestTelegramPocketSkypeLike this:Like Loading… Her translation of Scattered Crumbs (al-Ramli) won the Arkansas Arabic
Continue reading New Fiction in Translation: Two Stories by Yasmeen Hanoosh
In a 2017 interview with the magazine al-Riwayah, Ahmad describes, in unforgettable fashion, what it was like in Yemen in 2011. It deals with the destructive power and uncertain outcome of armed conflict. These are the events he evokes so vividly in Black Rains. How do you feel when you have to helplessly watch someone
Like a scorpion, its sting is rancorous. 22 O cupbearer, pass me the daughter of the jugs. Hashish is no kohl—it’s set your eyes aflame. Nothing’s more lovely, more exquisite in the mouth. 21 Hashish saddens, wine gladdens. I said, I’ve been looking for you, And you for me—I’ve brought your girl’s suitor. 26 The
Continue reading Poetry in Translation: The 13th Century ‘My Religion—My Wine’
The winner is awarded a cash prize of £10,000 and four shortlisted writers will receive £500 each. Sunday Submissions: 2022 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing January 16, 2022January 13, 2022 by Leonie Rau The 2022 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing is open for submissions by publishers until January 31: The organizers write: The
Continue reading Sunday Submissions: 2022 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing
He writes: In my view, the poetics of translation is an ethos that takes the form of a constraint. Translation is a constraint-based form of writing. Share this:TwitterFacebookEmailPrintLinkedInRedditTumblrWhatsAppPinterestTelegramPocketSkypeLike this:Like Loading… How to take those pains, and up to what threshold, and the amount of time available, and all the decisions that go into managing these
Continue reading Lit & Found: David Larsen on Translation ‘As a Constraint-based Form of Writing’
By forcing a pause there and leaving only white space before and after the participle, the translator can further elicit the sense of emptiness that may not have been possible to translate directly into English in other parts of the poem. As Abu Zeid points out, “Perhaps it is this versatility, coupled with a deep
Continue reading Najwan Darwish and the Politics/Poetics of Translating Exhaustion