Music Articles (Lyrics)
The Old Woman and the River (al-Sabiliyyat), by Isma’il Fahd Isma’il, tr. Kitab al-hayawan, by al-Jahiz. One of the most translated texts in world literature, Kalilah and Dimnah was adapted into Arabic by Ibn al-Muqaffa’, who worked from a now-lost Middle Persian version, itself taken from the Sanskrit original. Nancy Roberts. You could
Continue reading 10 Books: Animal Tales in Arabic Literature
This book, winner of a Naguib Mahfouz Prize for Literature for the 2019-2020 prize cycle, is a family saga set during Egypt’s Mamluk period, and it centers on three generations of Egyptians who are descended from foreign-born Mamluks. If you know of other works forthcoming this month, please add them in the comments or email
Continue reading Coming in June: Historical Fiction & Animal Stories
He has participated in several online conferences on sci-fi- related topics, and has translated numerous novels and stories from Arabic into English. We want to shelter it from corrupting influences, technological arrogance included, which is a Quranic injunction. I’d say we place the spirit center stage. As Arabs especially, we love gardens and vines and
It’s a conservative position: culture first, then the institutions. The route from Jabra’s house to the Antonius villa takes you right through Zion Square, the heart of Jerusalem, where the Zion cinema used to be. And the characters are rich and complex and well-developed despite the lack of specific times and dates. When I first
Photo taken sometime between 1938 and 1942. Photos & Archives: Companions to Jabra Ibrahim Jabra’s ‘Cry in a Long Night’ May 30, 2022May 18, 2022 by mlynxqualey In celebration of the publication of Jabra Ibrahim Jabra’s (1919-1994) Cry in a Long Night: And Four Stories in English translation, translator William Tamplin talked with ArabLit about
Continue reading Photos & Archives: Companions to Jabra Ibrahim Jabra’s ‘Cry in a Long Night’
To propose a contribution, submit your 250-word abstract with a 100-word bio via this submission form by June 5, 2022, and visit Arab Urbanism’s website for further information. Sunday Submissions: Arab Urbanism May 29, 2022May 25, 2022 by Leonie Rau Critical online magazine Arab Urbanism is calling for abstracts on the theme of ‘Imaginaries from
I didn’t answer callers and didn’t open my door to those knocking. Being defined is a limitation and an arduous burden, ‘Ya’. Absent,” I would pay full attention to her, her rounded lips, and the curves of her breasts. My naming is a conclusion, my death is a conclusion, and so is the harvest. Even
Continue reading New Short Fiction from Sudan: ‘Nameless,’ by Mohammed Hamad Mahmoud
Salah’s sympathy for the less privileged and downtrodden comes perfectly naturally in its outpouring. And another wish: O Maria,I wish I were sitting at the top of Olympus,with lovely girls around,and all the inspiration I needsipping from the pure wine of Bacchus.When the wine sends me into raptures,I call out in delight:O girls!Take your harps
Continue reading Remembering Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, an Avant Garde Pioneer of Sudanese Poetry
His “Afro-Asian Song” celebrated the birth of the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961 as a brilliant endeavor by Third World countries to break away from the yoke of superpowers. He is the author of Modern Sudanese Poetry: an Anthology (University of Nebraska Press, 2019). That poem eloquently captured the high mood that swept the Third World
Continue reading A Translator’s Canon of Sudanese Literature
Your gun is the only object left, the only thing you can count on. Your only wish becomes attaining justice so that you can die with a little less pain. They were from all over Syria, from all the towns and regions, not only religious minorities as everyone seemed to believe. He was stricken by a
Continue reading An Excerpt from Fadi Azzam’s ‘Huddud’s House’
If you put your name on the work, it may be disqualified.THERE IS NO FEE FOR SUBMISSIONS.The prize: $500 to the winner, split between author and translator (except in cases where the work is in the public domain). Translators must have secured rights to the work, and translations must have been previously unpublished.Stories will be
Continue reading Sunday Submissions: PEN/Heim Translation Grants & 2022 ArabLit Story Prize
Nothing. Another time it is the rooster who controls his hens, or the knight who reins in his mare or wife. At 31, Alnaas is the youngest writer to win the IPAF and the first Libyan. 2022 IPAF press conference At the press conference following the event, Humaydan added that “the theme of gender identity
First and foremost, Libyan cinema failed Libyan stories. Yes, some characters and actors are still beloved and quoted, but they are mainly comedy characters. Interview: With IPAF Organizers Milad had to be the only narrator in this novel for several reasons, most important of which is that Milad’s character is trapped behind the bars of
Continue reading Five to Celebrate International Prize for Arabic Fiction Winner Mohamed Alnaas
Share this:TwitterFacebookEmailPrintLinkedInRedditTumblrWhatsAppPinterestTelegramPocketSkypeLike this:Like Loading… It is a coincidence that its opening line names Jenin, the city where Shireen stood in a helmet and Kevlar vest emblazoned with the word PRESS, to report on yet another Israeli military incursion into the often-punished refugee camp on the last morning of her life. Maya’s book, her American debut,
Mansour leads us to penetrate deeply into our fear, and the changes that befall us when we leave the hell of our homeland to fall into another, even crueller hell. * Ayman Bik Ayman Bik The novel مسيح دارفور (The Messiah of Darfur), by writer Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin (2012, Dar Awraq), had a very strong
Continue reading Writers Select: New and Inventive Voices in Sudanese Literature
What do you think makes a good novel? ArabLit spoke to Nasrallah about the problems with censorship, and his literary inspirations. He won first place in the ‘Short Stories on the Air’ competition organized by Alarabi magazine, and his novel The Highest Depth was longlisted for the Sheikh Zayed Book Award in 2017. How did
Continue reading Khaled Nasrallah: Censorship is Not Exclusive to Kuwait; It’s a Global Issue
Pete Moore is currently the Visit Kuwait Chair at the Paris School of International Studies, Sciences Po, Paris. She is the translator of Hisham Bustani’s the Monotonous Chaos of Existence. Michael B. A writer and editor, his work has appeared places and can be found through his website. Tager, and scholar Pete Moore talk translation,
Continue reading TODAY: The Englishing of Hisham Bustani’s ‘Monotonous Chaos’
An excerpt from the second chapter of ‘The White Line of Night’ By Khaled NasrallahTranslated by Ibrahim Fawzy At times, phrases and paragraphs become muddled up. From Khaled Nasrallah’s IPAF-shortlisted ‘The White Line of Night’ May 16, 2022May 16, 2022 by nashwagowanlock By Ibrahim Fawzy Khaled Nasrallah’s The White Line of Night, shortlisted for this
Continue reading From Khaled Nasrallah’s IPAF-shortlisted ‘The White Line of Night’
The second book by Barakat in English translation, following her wild post-not-post-war novel Oh, Salaam!, also translated by Leafgren. In it, we see a tragicomic Beirut through the eyes of a disappointed writer, the titular Mister N. The clock showed 10:25. Other horns followed, proclaiming their own excellence. N. Read the whole excerpt at LitHub.
Continue reading Lit & Found: An Excerpt from Najwa Barakat’s ‘Mr N’
“And what’s the problem with being in a hurry? Yes, I’ve been in a hurry for two years.” Art by Najah al-Bukai. Be aware of who’s around you on your way there. It’s very possible that your house is being watched, ever since it was last raided. So make sure that no one is following or watching you. As
Continue reading New Short Fiction from Syria: Ibrahim Samu’il’s ‘The Stench of Heavy Footsteps’