BULAQ

This episode focuses on Driss Chraibi's The Simple Past (Le Passé Simple), a Moroccan novel about a very angry young man in revolt against his father's tyranny and the hypocrisies of his colonial education. Back in 1954, it was compared to an explosion – and it still packs a punch today. 

Show Notes:

The Simple Past was newly re-issued from NYRB Classics in Hugh A. Harter's 1990 translation, with a new introduction from Adam Shatz. Shatz's introduction is available online at the NYR Daily.

Excerpts from Chraibi's interview with Federico Arbós can be found at Fragmentos de la entrevista con Federico Arbós, El Mundo/La Esfera, 28/3/92.

This episode also references Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy and the father figure of Si Sayyed; Waguih Ghali's Beer in the Snooker Club; and Tayib Saleh's Season of Migration to the North.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode focuses on Driss Chraibi's The Simple Past (Le Passé Simple), a Moroccan novel about a very angry young man in revolt against his father's tyranny and the hypocrisies of his colonial education. Back in 1954, it was compared to an explosion – and it still packs a punch today. 

Show Notes:

The Simple Past was newly re-issued from NYRB Classics in Hugh A. Harter's 1990 translation, with a new introduction from Adam Shatz. Shatz's introduction is available online at the NYR Daily.

Excerpts from Chraibi's interview with Federico Arbós can be found at Fragmentos de la entrevista con Federico Arbós, El Mundo/La Esfera, 28/3/92.

This episode also references Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy and the father figure of Si Sayyed; Waguih Ghali's Beer in the Snooker Club; and Tayib Saleh's Season of Migration to the North.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode focuses on Driss Chraibi's The Simple Past (Le Passé Simple), a Moroccan novel about a very angry young man in revolt against his father's tyranny and the hypocrisies of his colonial education. Back in 1954, it was compared to an explosion – and it still packs a punch today. 

Show Notes:

The Simple Past was newly re-issued from NYRB Classics in Hugh A. Harter's 1990 translation, with a new introduction from Adam Shatz. Shatz's introduction is available online at the NYR Daily.

Excerpts from Chraibi's interview with Federico Arbós can be found at Fragmentos de la entrevista con Federico Arbós, El Mundo/La Esfera, 28/3/92.

This episode also references Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy and the father figure of Si Sayyed; Waguih Ghali's Beer in the Snooker Club; and Tayib Saleh's Season of Migration to the North.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We recorded this episode in Cairo with author, translator, and Mada Masr culture editor Yasmine Zohdi. We talked about making art in difficult and precarious times; how to acknowledge the political context; censorship and self-censorship. 

“What we talk about when we talk about trees,” by Yasmine Zohdi, ran in Mada Masr in December of last year.

We also spoke about the shrinking of cultural spaces in Cairo.

Zohdi also translates, including her husband Muhammad al-Hajj's beautiful Nobody Mourns the City's Cats.

MLQ was in Cairo for the ARCE symposium on popular culture. Essays from and inspired by the symposium will be appearing at The Maydan.

An excerpt of the Egyptian novel Prizes for Heroes was translated as part of Mada Masr's translation series.

The Egyptian film Yomeddine (“Judgement Day”) was part of the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We recorded this episode in Cairo with author, translator, and Mada Masr culture editor Yasmine Zohdi. We talked about making art in difficult and precarious times; how to acknowledge the political context; censorship and self-censorship. 

“What we talk about when we talk about trees,” by Yasmine Zohdi, ran in Mada Masr in December of last year.

We also spoke about the shrinking of cultural spaces in Cairo.

Zohdi also translates, including her husband Muhammad al-Hajj's beautiful Nobody Mourns the City's Cats.

MLQ was in Cairo for the ARCE symposium on popular culture. Essays from and inspired by the symposium will be appearing at The Maydan.

An excerpt of the Egyptian novel Prizes for Heroes was translated as part of Mada Masr's translation series.

The Egyptian film Yomeddine (“Judgement Day”) was part of the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We recorded this episode in Cairo with author, translator, and Mada Masr culture editor Yasmine Zohdi. We talked about making art in difficult and precarious times; how to acknowledge the political context; censorship and self-censorship. 

“What we talk about when we talk about trees,” by Yasmine Zohdi, ran in Mada Masr in December of last year.

We also spoke about the shrinking of cultural spaces in Cairo.

Zohdi also translates, including her husband Muhammad al-Hajj's beautiful Nobody Mourns the City's Cats.

MLQ was in Cairo for the ARCE symposium on popular culture. Essays from and inspired by the symposium will be appearing at The Maydan.

An excerpt of the Egyptian novel Prizes for Heroes was translated as part of Mada Masr's translation series.

The Egyptian film Yomeddine (“Judgement Day”) was part of the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk to humorist Karl Sharro about the origins story of his Twitter alter-ego Karl ReMarks and about finding the ideal online nemesis. Marcia takes issue with a new book listing the “hundred best novels in translation.” 

Show notes

• Karl Sharro spoke about Karl ReMarks' new book, And then God Created the Middle East and Said ‘Let There Be Breaking News' (and Analysis). The book is forthcoming July 9.
• Boyd Tonkin's The 100 Best Novels in Translation was released June 21. The two Arabic novels that made the list were Tayeb Salih's Season of Migration to the North, translated by Denys Johnson-Davies, and Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy, translated by William Maynard Hutchins, Olive E. Kenny, Lorne M. Kenny, and Angele Botros Samaan. The translation was overseen by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, along with Martha Levin, and their notes on the manuscript can be found at the Lilly Library Manuscript Collections.
• You can read the Amazon press release online about how the mega-corporation has (finally) launched some 12,000 Arabic ebooks into the Kindle system. You can find and purchase them on Amazon.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk to humorist Karl Sharro about the origins story of his Twitter alter-ego Karl ReMarks and about finding the ideal online nemesis. Marcia takes issue with a new book listing the “hundred best novels in translation.” 

Show notes

• Karl Sharro spoke about Karl ReMarks' new book, And then God Created the Middle East and Said ‘Let There Be Breaking News' (and Analysis). The book is forthcoming July 9.
• Boyd Tonkin's The 100 Best Novels in Translation was released June 21. The two Arabic novels that made the list were Tayeb Salih's Season of Migration to the North, translated by Denys Johnson-Davies, and Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy, translated by William Maynard Hutchins, Olive E. Kenny, Lorne M. Kenny, and Angele Botros Samaan. The translation was overseen by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, along with Martha Levin, and their notes on the manuscript can be found at the Lilly Library Manuscript Collections.
• You can read the Amazon press release online about how the mega-corporation has (finally) launched some 12,000 Arabic ebooks into the Kindle system. You can find and purchase them on Amazon.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk to humorist Karl Sharro about the origins story of his Twitter alter-ego Karl ReMarks and about finding the ideal online nemesis. Marcia takes issue with a new book listing the “hundred best novels in translation.” 

Show notes

• Karl Sharro spoke about Karl ReMarks' new book, And then God Created the Middle East and Said ‘Let There Be Breaking News' (and Analysis). The book is forthcoming July 9.
• Boyd Tonkin's The 100 Best Novels in Translation was released June 21. The two Arabic novels that made the list were Tayeb Salih's Season of Migration to the North, translated by Denys Johnson-Davies, and Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy, translated by William Maynard Hutchins, Olive E. Kenny, Lorne M. Kenny, and Angele Botros Samaan. The translation was overseen by Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, along with Martha Levin, and their notes on the manuscript can be found at the Lilly Library Manuscript Collections.
• You can read the Amazon press release online about how the mega-corporation has (finally) launched some 12,000 Arabic ebooks into the Kindle system. You can find and purchase them on Amazon.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We take a look at a new book about the architecture of twentieth century Cairo, and discuss the Egyptian capital's past, present and future, and the way writers have shaped our view of it.  

Show Notes:

Mohamed Elshahed's architectural survey Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide is newly released from AUC Press, with a foreward by Mercedes Volait. 

Elshahed's longtime blog, Cairobserver, is a must-read for anyone interested in the built world.

 Another recent book that maps Cairo is Humphrey Davies and Lesley Lababidi's A Field Guide to the Street Names of Central Cairo; N.A. Mansour recently wrote about both A Field Guide and Cairo Since 1900 in “Two New Books Preserving Cairo's Urban Landscape.”

 Tawfiq al-Hakim's The Prison of Life: An Autobiographical Essay, in which he describes his father's time as an amateur architect, was translated by Pierre Cachia. Other Egyptian literary works that feature architects include Reem Bassiouney's novel Mortal Designs, translated by Melanie Magidow, and Naguib Mahfouz's play The Legacy. 

Also discussed in this episode are Hamdi Abu Golayyel's novels Thieves in retirement (trans. Marilyn Booth) and A Dog With No Tale (trans. Robin Moger).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We take a look at a new book about the architecture of twentieth century Cairo, and discuss the Egyptian capital's past, present and future, and the way writers have shaped our view of it.  

Show Notes:

Mohamed Elshahed's architectural survey Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide is newly released from AUC Press, with a foreward by Mercedes Volait. 

Elshahed's longtime blog, Cairobserver, is a must-read for anyone interested in the built world.

 Another recent book that maps Cairo is Humphrey Davies and Lesley Lababidi's A Field Guide to the Street Names of Central Cairo; N.A. Mansour recently wrote about both A Field Guide and Cairo Since 1900 in “Two New Books Preserving Cairo's Urban Landscape.”

 Tawfiq al-Hakim's The Prison of Life: An Autobiographical Essay, in which he describes his father's time as an amateur architect, was translated by Pierre Cachia. Other Egyptian literary works that feature architects include Reem Bassiouney's novel Mortal Designs, translated by Melanie Magidow, and Naguib Mahfouz's play The Legacy. 

Also discussed in this episode are Hamdi Abu Golayyel's novels Thieves in retirement (trans. Marilyn Booth) and A Dog With No Tale (trans. Robin Moger).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We take a look at a new book about the architecture of twentieth century Cairo, and discuss the Egyptian capital's past, present and future, and the way writers have shaped our view of it.  

Show Notes:

Mohamed Elshahed's architectural survey Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide is newly released from AUC Press, with a foreward by Mercedes Volait. 

Elshahed's longtime blog, Cairobserver, is a must-read for anyone interested in the built world.

 Another recent book that maps Cairo is Humphrey Davies and Lesley Lababidi's A Field Guide to the Street Names of Central Cairo; N.A. Mansour recently wrote about both A Field Guide and Cairo Since 1900 in “Two New Books Preserving Cairo's Urban Landscape.”

 Tawfiq al-Hakim's The Prison of Life: An Autobiographical Essay, in which he describes his father's time as an amateur architect, was translated by Pierre Cachia. Other Egyptian literary works that feature architects include Reem Bassiouney's novel Mortal Designs, translated by Melanie Magidow, and Naguib Mahfouz's play The Legacy. 

Also discussed in this episode are Hamdi Abu Golayyel's novels Thieves in retirement (trans. Marilyn Booth) and A Dog With No Tale (trans. Robin Moger).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest this week was once told there were no Algerian crime novels. She begs to differ. We discuss the many examples of the genre and its evolution in Algeria, Morocco and Egypt. 

Show Notes:

Nadia Ghanem regularly covers Algerian and Moroccan literature -- particularly crime fiction -- for ArabLit. She has a wonderful crime-lit overview, "The Story of 50 Years of Algerian Crime Fiction in 60+ Books," and also a short translation of a work by Chawki Amari, ‘Murder at Algiers' Book Fair'.

A few of Nadia's favorite Algerian crime novels: Adel s'emmele by Salim Aissa (ENAL editions, 1988), Kharidj el-Saytara (خارج السيطرة) by Abdelatif Ould Abdellah (El-Ikhtilef editions,  2016), Sakarat Nedjma (سكرات نجمة) by Amel Bouchareb (Chihab editions, 2015), 1994 by Adlene Meddi (Barzakh editions, Algeria, also released in France by Rivage editions in 2018), La prière du Maure by Adlene Meddi  (Barzakh editions, 2008), Le casse-tête turc by Adlene Meddi (Barzakh editions, 2002).

Yasmina Khadra is the pen name of Algerian writer Mohammed Moulessehoul. He has written many books, including a series of brilliant detective novels, which have also been translated into English. 

The Moroccan writer Driss Chraibi's Inspector Ali is the hero of his acclaimed detective novels. 

The 2017 Egyptian noir film The Nile Hilton Incident take place just before the outbreak of the Arab Spring in Cairo. 

Nael Eltoukhy, author of Women of Karantina (tr. Robin Moger), wrote "Some Advice on Avoiding Censorship" for the Summer 2020 crime-themed issue of ArabLit Quarterly.

Ahmed Mourad's Vertigo, also tr. Moger, follows a story of crime and corruption through a photographer-sleuth's lens.

Elias Khoury's White Masks is his only murder-mystery; it has been translated by Maia Tabet. 

Several of Abdelilah Hamdouchi's crime novels have been translated and published by Hoopoe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest this week was once told there were no Algerian crime novels. She begs to differ. We discuss the many examples of the genre and its evolution in Algeria, Morocco and Egypt. 

Show Notes:

Nadia Ghanem regularly covers Algerian and Moroccan literature -- particularly crime fiction -- for ArabLit. She has a wonderful crime-lit overview, "The Story of 50 Years of Algerian Crime Fiction in 60+ Books," and also a short translation of a work by Chawki Amari, ‘Murder at Algiers' Book Fair'.

A few of Nadia's favorite Algerian crime novels: Adel s'emmele by Salim Aissa (ENAL editions, 1988), Kharidj el-Saytara (خارج السيطرة) by Abdelatif Ould Abdellah (El-Ikhtilef editions,  2016), Sakarat Nedjma (سكرات نجمة) by Amel Bouchareb (Chihab editions, 2015), 1994 by Adlene Meddi (Barzakh editions, Algeria, also released in France by Rivage editions in 2018), La prière du Maure by Adlene Meddi  (Barzakh editions, 2008), Le casse-tête turc by Adlene Meddi (Barzakh editions, 2002).

Yasmina Khadra is the pen name of Algerian writer Mohammed Moulessehoul. He has written many books, including a series of brilliant detective novels, which have also been translated into English. 

The Moroccan writer Driss Chraibi's Inspector Ali is the hero of his acclaimed detective novels. 

The 2017 Egyptian noir film The Nile Hilton Incident take place just before the outbreak of the Arab Spring in Cairo. 

Nael Eltoukhy, author of Women of Karantina (tr. Robin Moger), wrote "Some Advice on Avoiding Censorship" for the Summer 2020 crime-themed issue of ArabLit Quarterly.

Ahmed Mourad's Vertigo, also tr. Moger, follows a story of crime and corruption through a photographer-sleuth's lens.

Elias Khoury's White Masks is his only murder-mystery; it has been translated by Maia Tabet. 

Several of Abdelilah Hamdouchi's crime novels have been translated and published by Hoopoe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest this week was once told there were no Algerian crime novels. She begs to differ. We discuss the many examples of the genre and its evolution in Algeria, Morocco and Egypt. 

Show Notes:

Nadia Ghanem regularly covers Algerian and Moroccan literature -- particularly crime fiction -- for ArabLit. She has a wonderful crime-lit overview, "The Story of 50 Years of Algerian Crime Fiction in 60+ Books," and also a short translation of a work by Chawki Amari, ‘Murder at Algiers' Book Fair'.

A few of Nadia's favorite Algerian crime novels: Adel s'emmele by Salim Aissa (ENAL editions, 1988), Kharidj el-Saytara (خارج السيطرة) by Abdelatif Ould Abdellah (El-Ikhtilef editions,  2016), Sakarat Nedjma (سكرات نجمة) by Amel Bouchareb (Chihab editions, 2015), 1994 by Adlene Meddi (Barzakh editions, Algeria, also released in France by Rivage editions in 2018), La prière du Maure by Adlene Meddi  (Barzakh editions, 2008), Le casse-tête turc by Adlene Meddi (Barzakh editions, 2002).

Yasmina Khadra is the pen name of Algerian writer Mohammed Moulessehoul. He has written many books, including a series of brilliant detective novels, which have also been translated into English. 

The Moroccan writer Driss Chraibi's Inspector Ali is the hero of his acclaimed detective novels. 

The 2017 Egyptian noir film The Nile Hilton Incident take place just before the outbreak of the Arab Spring in Cairo. 

Nael Eltoukhy, author of Women of Karantina (tr. Robin Moger), wrote "Some Advice on Avoiding Censorship" for the Summer 2020 crime-themed issue of ArabLit Quarterly.

Ahmed Mourad's Vertigo, also tr. Moger, follows a story of crime and corruption through a photographer-sleuth's lens.

Elias Khoury's White Masks is his only murder-mystery; it has been translated by Maia Tabet. 

Several of Abdelilah Hamdouchi's crime novels have been translated and published by Hoopoe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we explore the relationship between cooking and writing. With special guest Anny Gaul, we talk about the origins of national dishes such as couscous and koshary; medieval Arabic cook books; and representations of kitchens and cooking in Egyptian literature. 

Show Notes:

Anny Gaul's writing and recipes, including the one on “bad translations” of hummus are online at cookingwithgaul.com. She wrote about Egyptian koshary as the dish we need right now for Eater. Her article on Abla Nazira's famous cookbooks is here. Her analysis of the depictions of cooking, kitchens and happiness in Egyptian writing can be found in the anthology Insatiable Appetite: Food as Cultural Signifier in the Middle East and Beyond. The essay on couscous from which she reads at the beginning of the episode can be found in the last issue of Arab Lit Quarterly. 

Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table: A Fourteenth-Century Egyptian Cookbook,  ed. and translated by Nawal Nasrallah and Scents and Flavors: A Syrian Cookbook, tr. Charles Perry, are both out in paperback this year. 

Many adapted recipes are available at Nawal Nasrallah's website, nawalcooking.blogspot.com.

The Library of Arabic Literature offers free Arabic-only PDFs of their works, including Scents and Flavors. 

This episode mentions the Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim's Zaat, in which the kitchen is a site of mishaps, set-backs and middle-class aspirations. 

Here are links to further recent writing in Arabic on food: 

CIC Collective Workshop, Taste of Letters

A historical essay in the Al Jazeera Culture Section

Novelist Nael El Toukhy in Mada Masr 

An essay on food in Ottoman era poetry

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we explore the relationship between cooking and writing. With special guest Anny Gaul, we talk about the origins of national dishes such as couscous and koshary; medieval Arabic cook books; and representations of kitchens and cooking in Egyptian literature. 

Show Notes:

Anny Gaul's writing and recipes, including the one on “bad translations” of hummus are online at cookingwithgaul.com. She wrote about Egyptian koshary as the dish we need right now for Eater. Her article on Abla Nazira's famous cookbooks is here. Her analysis of the depictions of cooking, kitchens and happiness in Egyptian writing can be found in the anthology Insatiable Appetite: Food as Cultural Signifier in the Middle East and Beyond. The essay on couscous from which she reads at the beginning of the episode can be found in the last issue of Arab Lit Quarterly. 

Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table: A Fourteenth-Century Egyptian Cookbook,  ed. and translated by Nawal Nasrallah and Scents and Flavors: A Syrian Cookbook, tr. Charles Perry, are both out in paperback this year. 

Many adapted recipes are available at Nawal Nasrallah's website, nawalcooking.blogspot.com.

The Library of Arabic Literature offers free Arabic-only PDFs of their works, including Scents and Flavors. 

This episode mentions the Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim's Zaat, in which the kitchen is a site of mishaps, set-backs and middle-class aspirations. 

Here are links to further recent writing in Arabic on food: 

CIC Collective Workshop, Taste of Letters

A historical essay in the Al Jazeera Culture Section

Novelist Nael El Toukhy in Mada Masr 

An essay on food in Ottoman era poetry

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we explore the relationship between cooking and writing. With special guest Anny Gaul, we talk about the origins of national dishes such as couscous and koshary; medieval Arabic cook books; and representations of kitchens and cooking in Egyptian literature. 

Show Notes:

Anny Gaul's writing and recipes, including the one on “bad translations” of hummus are online at cookingwithgaul.com. She wrote about Egyptian koshary as the dish we need right now for Eater. Her article on Abla Nazira's famous cookbooks is here. Her analysis of the depictions of cooking, kitchens and happiness in Egyptian writing can be found in the anthology Insatiable Appetite: Food as Cultural Signifier in the Middle East and Beyond. The essay on couscous from which she reads at the beginning of the episode can be found in the last issue of Arab Lit Quarterly. 

Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table: A Fourteenth-Century Egyptian Cookbook,  ed. and translated by Nawal Nasrallah and Scents and Flavors: A Syrian Cookbook, tr. Charles Perry, are both out in paperback this year. 

Many adapted recipes are available at Nawal Nasrallah's website, nawalcooking.blogspot.com.

The Library of Arabic Literature offers free Arabic-only PDFs of their works, including Scents and Flavors. 

This episode mentions the Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim's Zaat, in which the kitchen is a site of mishaps, set-backs and middle-class aspirations. 

Here are links to further recent writing in Arabic on food: 

CIC Collective Workshop, Taste of Letters

A historical essay in the Al Jazeera Culture Section

Novelist Nael El Toukhy in Mada Masr 

An essay on food in Ottoman era poetry

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're re-running one of our favorite episodes. In 1993, the Egyptian poet and writer Iman Mersal picked up an unknown novel by a forgotten writer from the 60s. And so began her long wanderings in search of Enayat El Zayat. El Zayat killed herself in 1963, four years before her book “Love and Silence” was finally published. Mersal's portrait of El Zayat is a remarkable work of research, empathy and imagination. 

Show Notes:

This episode focuses on Iman Mersal's In the Footsteps of Enayat al-Zayyat (في أثر عنايات الزيات), published by Kotob Khan Books in late 2019.

The author Enayat al-Zayyat (1936-63) finished one novel, which was published in 1967. 

Love and Silence ‫(الحب و الصمت) ‬ was recently republished and is available on Google Play.

Al-Zayyat was also working on a second novel, based around the German Egyptologist Ludwig Keimar; you can read Isolde Lehnert on Keimar.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're re-running one of our favorite episodes. In 1993, the Egyptian poet and writer Iman Mersal picked up an unknown novel by a forgotten writer from the 60s. And so began her long wanderings in search of Enayat El Zayat. El Zayat killed herself in 1963, four years before her book “Love and Silence” was finally published. Mersal's portrait of El Zayat is a remarkable work of research, empathy and imagination. 

Show Notes:

This episode focuses on Iman Mersal's In the Footsteps of Enayat al-Zayyat (في أثر عنايات الزيات), published by Kotob Khan Books in late 2019.

The author Enayat al-Zayyat (1936-63) finished one novel, which was published in 1967. 

Love and Silence ‫(الحب و الصمت) ‬ was recently republished and is available on Google Play.

Al-Zayyat was also working on a second novel, based around the German Egyptologist Ludwig Keimar; you can read Isolde Lehnert on Keimar.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're re-running one of our favorite episodes. In 1993, the Egyptian poet and writer Iman Mersal picked up an unknown novel by a forgotten writer from the 60s. And so began her long wanderings in search of Enayat El Zayat. El Zayat killed herself in 1963, four years before her book “Love and Silence” was finally published. Mersal's portrait of El Zayat is a remarkable work of research, empathy and imagination. 

Show Notes:

This episode focuses on Iman Mersal's In the Footsteps of Enayat al-Zayyat (في أثر عنايات الزيات), published by Kotob Khan Books in late 2019.

The author Enayat al-Zayyat (1936-63) finished one novel, which was published in 1967. 

Love and Silence ‫(الحب و الصمت) ‬ was recently republished and is available on Google Play.

Al-Zayyat was also working on a second novel, based around the German Egyptologist Ludwig Keimar; you can read Isolde Lehnert on Keimar.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about the Syrian writer Dima Wannous' haunting novel The Frightened Ones, translated by Elisabeth Jacquette. It's a book about fear, panic and anxiety -- in one's body and society, between generations and lovers -- that is also somehow a great pleasure to read.

Show Notes:

The Frightened Ones was shortlisted for the 2018 International Prize for Arabic Fiction; its English translation is now out in the UK and forthcoming in the US. 

We discussed the work of Wannous' father, the brilliant playwright Sa'adallah Wannous, in episode 28, “Sentenced to Hope.”

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about the Syrian writer Dima Wannous' haunting novel The Frightened Ones, translated by Elisabeth Jacquette. It's a book about fear, panic and anxiety -- in one's body and society, between generations and lovers -- that is also somehow a great pleasure to read.

Show Notes:

The Frightened Ones was shortlisted for the 2018 International Prize for Arabic Fiction; its English translation is now out in the UK and forthcoming in the US. 

We discussed the work of Wannous' father, the brilliant playwright Sa'adallah Wannous, in episode 28, “Sentenced to Hope.”

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about the Syrian writer Dima Wannous' haunting novel The Frightened Ones, translated by Elisabeth Jacquette. It's a book about fear, panic and anxiety -- in one's body and society, between generations and lovers -- that is also somehow a great pleasure to read.

Show Notes:

The Frightened Ones was shortlisted for the 2018 International Prize for Arabic Fiction; its English translation is now out in the UK and forthcoming in the US. 

We discussed the work of Wannous' father, the brilliant playwright Sa'adallah Wannous, in episode 28, “Sentenced to Hope.”

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about a collection of essays by female journalists from the region. Guilt, anger, recklessness, determination. There are many different and movingly honest takes on reporting while Arab and female. 

Show Notes:

You can also follow the contributors to this volume online: follow @ZahraHankir and @HindHassanNews on Lebanon; @Linaattalah, the editor of @madamasr, on Egypt; @AidaAlami on Morocco; and many more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about a collection of essays by female journalists from the region. Guilt, anger, recklessness, determination. There are many different and movingly honest takes on reporting while Arab and female. 

Show Notes:

You can also follow the contributors to this volume online: follow @ZahraHankir and @HindHassanNews on Lebanon; @Linaattalah, the editor of @madamasr, on Egypt; @AidaAlami on Morocco; and many more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about a collection of essays by female journalists from the region. Guilt, anger, recklessness, determination. There are many different and movingly honest takes on reporting while Arab and female. 

Show Notes:

You can also follow the contributors to this volume online: follow @ZahraHankir and @HindHassanNews on Lebanon; @Linaattalah, the editor of @madamasr, on Egypt; @AidaAlami on Morocco; and many more.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beirut writer Lina Mounzer reads from her essay “Waste Away: Notes on Beirut's Broken Sewage System.” We discuss the current situation in Lebanon and literature that looks at the worlds beneath our feet. 

Show Notes:

Lina Mounzer's “Waste Away” appears in The Baffler; a slightly modified version is set to be published next week in the anthology Tales of Two Planets, ed. John Freeman.

Saleem Haddad's “Song of the Birds,” in the anthology Palestine + 100, explores the problems of sewage at Palestinian shores. 

Rabee Jaber's Mehlis Report, translated to English by Kareem James Abu-Zeid, tells the tale of two cities: Beirut above and Beirut below.

Mounzer's “Translating Trash” appeared last year in The Paris Review. Also, her “The Great Ponzi Scheme” predicted a Lebanese financial disaster in the New York Times last December.

Mounzer wasn't alone. This essay from 2017 -- “Abracadabra...broke” -- also saw a looming economic crisis. 

Ursula wrote about Lebanese protests last November in the NYR Daily: The Lebanese Street Asks: ‘Which Is Stronger, Sect or Hunger?'

Favorite Lebanese literary magazines Samandal and Rusted Radishes continue to publish, although RR is re-imagining their budget and fundraising possibilities. Keep an eye out for their Patreon.

*Editor's Note: Ursula incorrectly refers to a long-serving Lebanese prime minister. She meant Speaker of Parliament. Nabih Berri has held that position for nearly three decades.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beirut writer Lina Mounzer reads from her essay “Waste Away: Notes on Beirut's Broken Sewage System.” We discuss the current situation in Lebanon and literature that looks at the worlds beneath our feet. 

Show Notes:

Lina Mounzer's “Waste Away” appears in The Baffler; a slightly modified version is set to be published next week in the anthology Tales of Two Planets, ed. John Freeman.

Saleem Haddad's “Song of the Birds,” in the anthology Palestine + 100, explores the problems of sewage at Palestinian shores. 

Rabee Jaber's Mehlis Report, translated to English by Kareem James Abu-Zeid, tells the tale of two cities: Beirut above and Beirut below.

Mounzer's “Translating Trash” appeared last year in The Paris Review. Also, her “The Great Ponzi Scheme” predicted a Lebanese financial disaster in the New York Times last December.

Mounzer wasn't alone. This essay from 2017 -- “Abracadabra...broke” -- also saw a looming economic crisis. 

Ursula wrote about Lebanese protests last November in the NYR Daily: The Lebanese Street Asks: ‘Which Is Stronger, Sect or Hunger?'

Favorite Lebanese literary magazines Samandal and Rusted Radishes continue to publish, although RR is re-imagining their budget and fundraising possibilities. Keep an eye out for their Patreon.

*Editor's Note: Ursula incorrectly refers to a long-serving Lebanese prime minister. She meant Speaker of Parliament. Nabih Berri has held that position for nearly three decades.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beirut writer Lina Mounzer reads from her essay “Waste Away: Notes on Beirut's Broken Sewage System.” We discuss the current situation in Lebanon and literature that looks at the worlds beneath our feet. 

Show Notes:

Lina Mounzer's “Waste Away” appears in The Baffler; a slightly modified version is set to be published next week in the anthology Tales of Two Planets, ed. John Freeman.

Saleem Haddad's “Song of the Birds,” in the anthology Palestine + 100, explores the problems of sewage at Palestinian shores. 

Rabee Jaber's Mehlis Report, translated to English by Kareem James Abu-Zeid, tells the tale of two cities: Beirut above and Beirut below.

Mounzer's “Translating Trash” appeared last year in The Paris Review. Also, her “The Great Ponzi Scheme” predicted a Lebanese financial disaster in the New York Times last December.

Mounzer wasn't alone. This essay from 2017 -- “Abracadabra...broke” -- also saw a looming economic crisis. 

Ursula wrote about Lebanese protests last November in the NYR Daily: The Lebanese Street Asks: ‘Which Is Stronger, Sect or Hunger?'

Favorite Lebanese literary magazines Samandal and Rusted Radishes continue to publish, although RR is re-imagining their budget and fundraising possibilities. Keep an eye out for their Patreon.

*Editor's Note: Ursula incorrectly refers to a long-serving Lebanese prime minister. She meant Speaker of Parliament. Nabih Berri has held that position for nearly three decades.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest this week was once told there were no Algerian crime novels. She begs to differ. We discuss the many examples of the genre and its evolution in Algeria, Morocco and Egypt. 

Show Notes:

Nadia Ghanem regularly covers Algerian and Moroccan literature -- particularly crime fiction -- for ArabLit. She has a wonderful crime-lit overview, "The Story of 50 Years of Algerian Crime Fiction in 60+ Books," and also a short translation of a work by Chawki Amari, ‘Murder at Algiers' Book Fair'.

A few of Nadia's favorite Algerian crime novels: Adel s'emmele by Salim Aissa (ENAL editions, 1988), Kharidj el-Saytara (خارج السيطرة) by Abdelatif Ould Abdellah (El-Ikhtilef editions,  2016), Sakarat Nedjma (سكرات نجمة) by Amel Bouchareb (Chihab editions, 2015), 1994 by Adlene Meddi (Barzakh editions, Algeria, also released in France by Rivage editions in 2018), La prière du Maure by Adlene Meddi  (Barzakh editions, 2008), Le casse-tête turc by Adlene Meddi (Barzakh editions, 2002).

Yasmina Khadra is the pen name of Algerian writer Mohammed Moulessehoul. He has written many books, including a series of brilliant detective novels, which have also been translated into English. 

The Moroccan writer Driss Chraibi's Inspector Ali is the hero of his acclaimed detective novels. 

The 2017 Egyptian noir film The Nile Hilton Incident take place just before the outbreak of the Arab Spring in Cairo. 

Nael Eltoukhy, author of Women of Karantina (tr. Robin Moger), wrote "Some Advice on Avoiding Censorship" for the Summer 2020 crime-themed issue of ArabLit Quarterly.

Ahmed Mourad's Vertigo, also tr. Moger, follows a story of crime and corruption through a photographer-sleuth's lens.

Elias Khoury's White Masks is his only murder-mystery; it has been translated by Maia Tabet. 

Several of Abdelilah Hamdouchi's crime novels have been translated and published by Hoopoe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest this week was once told there were no Algerian crime novels. She begs to differ. We discuss the many examples of the genre and its evolution in Algeria, Morocco and Egypt. 

Show Notes:

Nadia Ghanem regularly covers Algerian and Moroccan literature -- particularly crime fiction -- for ArabLit. She has a wonderful crime-lit overview, "The Story of 50 Years of Algerian Crime Fiction in 60+ Books," and also a short translation of a work by Chawki Amari, ‘Murder at Algiers' Book Fair'.

A few of Nadia's favorite Algerian crime novels: Adel s'emmele by Salim Aissa (ENAL editions, 1988), Kharidj el-Saytara (خارج السيطرة) by Abdelatif Ould Abdellah (El-Ikhtilef editions,  2016), Sakarat Nedjma (سكرات نجمة) by Amel Bouchareb (Chihab editions, 2015), 1994 by Adlene Meddi (Barzakh editions, Algeria, also released in France by Rivage editions in 2018), La prière du Maure by Adlene Meddi  (Barzakh editions, 2008), Le casse-tête turc by Adlene Meddi (Barzakh editions, 2002).

Yasmina Khadra is the pen name of Algerian writer Mohammed Moulessehoul. He has written many books, including a series of brilliant detective novels, which have also been translated into English. 

The Moroccan writer Driss Chraibi's Inspector Ali is the hero of his acclaimed detective novels. 

The 2017 Egyptian noir film The Nile Hilton Incident take place just before the outbreak of the Arab Spring in Cairo. 

Nael Eltoukhy, author of Women of Karantina (tr. Robin Moger), wrote "Some Advice on Avoiding Censorship" for the Summer 2020 crime-themed issue of ArabLit Quarterly.

Ahmed Mourad's Vertigo, also tr. Moger, follows a story of crime and corruption through a photographer-sleuth's lens.

Elias Khoury's White Masks is his only murder-mystery; it has been translated by Maia Tabet. 

Several of Abdelilah Hamdouchi's crime novels have been translated and published by Hoopoe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest this week was once told there were no Algerian crime novels. She begs to differ. We discuss the many examples of the genre and its evolution in Algeria, Morocco and Egypt. 

Show Notes:

Nadia Ghanem regularly covers Algerian and Moroccan literature -- particularly crime fiction -- for ArabLit. She has a wonderful crime-lit overview, "The Story of 50 Years of Algerian Crime Fiction in 60+ Books," and also a short translation of a work by Chawki Amari, ‘Murder at Algiers' Book Fair'.

A few of Nadia's favorite Algerian crime novels: Adel s'emmele by Salim Aissa (ENAL editions, 1988), Kharidj el-Saytara (خارج السيطرة) by Abdelatif Ould Abdellah (El-Ikhtilef editions,  2016), Sakarat Nedjma (سكرات نجمة) by Amel Bouchareb (Chihab editions, 2015), 1994 by Adlene Meddi (Barzakh editions, Algeria, also released in France by Rivage editions in 2018), La prière du Maure by Adlene Meddi  (Barzakh editions, 2008), Le casse-tête turc by Adlene Meddi (Barzakh editions, 2002).

Yasmina Khadra is the pen name of Algerian writer Mohammed Moulessehoul. He has written many books, including a series of brilliant detective novels, which have also been translated into English. 

The Moroccan writer Driss Chraibi's Inspector Ali is the hero of his acclaimed detective novels. 

The 2017 Egyptian noir film The Nile Hilton Incident take place just before the outbreak of the Arab Spring in Cairo. 

Nael Eltoukhy, author of Women of Karantina (tr. Robin Moger), wrote "Some Advice on Avoiding Censorship" for the Summer 2020 crime-themed issue of ArabLit Quarterly.

Ahmed Mourad's Vertigo, also tr. Moger, follows a story of crime and corruption through a photographer-sleuth's lens.

Elias Khoury's White Masks is his only murder-mystery; it has been translated by Maia Tabet. 

Several of Abdelilah Hamdouchi's crime novels have been translated and published by Hoopoe.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss a book that tells the stories of women who rallied to ISIS; one that focuses on a Franco-Moroccan family grappling with the end of colonialism; and a picaresque, satirical novel  from 1940s Egypt that has been recently re-discovered.

Show Notes:

Ursula's review of Guest House for Young Widows, a book about women who joined ISIS, appeared in the last issue of The Point magazine. It references a few other books, such as Dunya Mikhail's  The Beekeeper of Sinjar (which gathers the testimonies of Yazidi women enslaved by ISIS) and David Thomson's The Returned, about French jihadis.

Ursula's review of the Moroccan-French author Leila Slimani's latest novel, Le Pays des Autres, will be out soon in the New York Review of books. Slimani's The Perfect Nanny was an international best-seller; her new book is part of a planned historical trilogy set in Morocco.

Adel Kamel's long-forgotten, now-remembered classic Malim al-Akbar recently appeared in English as The Magnificent Conman of Cairo. A special section on ArabLit marks the launch.

Literary detective Mohamed Shoair is author of the acclaimed 2018 popular history Children of the Alley: The Story of the Forbidden Novel, which follows the story of Naguib Mahfouz's most controversial novel. A chapter of Shoair's book appears online in Samah Selim's translation.

Mahfouz talks briefly about the Harafish, his circle of literary friends, in Naguib Mahfouz at Sidi Gaber: Reflections of a Nobel Laureate, 1994-2001, from conversations with Mohamed Salmawy.

Albert Cossery was a French writer of Levantine origin, born in Cairo. Although he settled in Paris in 1945, he set all his wonderful novels — about criminals, layabouts and would-be revolutionaries — in Egypt or the middle east. 

The crime issue of ArabLit Quarterly is available now.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss a book that tells the stories of women who rallied to ISIS; one that focuses on a Franco-Moroccan family grappling with the end of colonialism; and a picaresque, satirical novel  from 1940s Egypt that has been recently re-discovered.

Show Notes:

Ursula's review of Guest House for Young Widows, a book about women who joined ISIS, appeared in the last issue of The Point magazine. It references a few other books, such as Dunya Mikhail's  The Beekeeper of Sinjar (which gathers the testimonies of Yazidi women enslaved by ISIS) and David Thomson's The Returned, about French jihadis.

Ursula's review of the Moroccan-French author Leila Slimani's latest novel, Le Pays des Autres, will be out soon in the New York Review of books. Slimani's The Perfect Nanny was an international best-seller; her new book is part of a planned historical trilogy set in Morocco.

Adel Kamel's long-forgotten, now-remembered classic Malim al-Akbar recently appeared in English as The Magnificent Conman of Cairo. A special section on ArabLit marks the launch.

Literary detective Mohamed Shoair is author of the acclaimed 2018 popular history Children of the Alley: The Story of the Forbidden Novel, which follows the story of Naguib Mahfouz's most controversial novel. A chapter of Shoair's book appears online in Samah Selim's translation.

Mahfouz talks briefly about the Harafish, his circle of literary friends, in Naguib Mahfouz at Sidi Gaber: Reflections of a Nobel Laureate, 1994-2001, from conversations with Mohamed Salmawy.

Albert Cossery was a French writer of Levantine origin, born in Cairo. Although he settled in Paris in 1945, he set all his wonderful novels — about criminals, layabouts and would-be revolutionaries — in Egypt or the middle east. 

The crime issue of ArabLit Quarterly is available now.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss a book that tells the stories of women who rallied to ISIS; one that focuses on a Franco-Moroccan family grappling with the end of colonialism; and a picaresque, satirical novel  from 1940s Egypt that has been recently re-discovered.

Show Notes:

Ursula's review of Guest House for Young Widows, a book about women who joined ISIS, appeared in the last issue of The Point magazine. It references a few other books, such as Dunya Mikhail's  The Beekeeper of Sinjar (which gathers the testimonies of Yazidi women enslaved by ISIS) and David Thomson's The Returned, about French jihadis.

Ursula's review of the Moroccan-French author Leila Slimani's latest novel, Le Pays des Autres, will be out soon in the New York Review of books. Slimani's The Perfect Nanny was an international best-seller; her new book is part of a planned historical trilogy set in Morocco.

Adel Kamel's long-forgotten, now-remembered classic Malim al-Akbar recently appeared in English as The Magnificent Conman of Cairo. A special section on ArabLit marks the launch.

Literary detective Mohamed Shoair is author of the acclaimed 2018 popular history Children of the Alley: The Story of the Forbidden Novel, which follows the story of Naguib Mahfouz's most controversial novel. A chapter of Shoair's book appears online in Samah Selim's translation.

Mahfouz talks briefly about the Harafish, his circle of literary friends, in Naguib Mahfouz at Sidi Gaber: Reflections of a Nobel Laureate, 1994-2001, from conversations with Mohamed Salmawy.

Albert Cossery was a French writer of Levantine origin, born in Cairo. Although he settled in Paris in 1945, he set all his wonderful novels — about criminals, layabouts and would-be revolutionaries — in Egypt or the middle east. 

The crime issue of ArabLit Quarterly is available now.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about Morocco's most infamous secret prison; about fathers and sons; about survivors who tell their stories and writers who borrow (or steal?) them. 

Show Notes: 

Johanna Sellman “Memoirs from Tazmamart: Writing Strategies and Alternative Frameworks of Judgment” gives an overview of the survivors' writing about Tazmamart through 2006.

In 1999-2000, Mohamed Raiss published an account of his experiences serialized in Arabic. It was translated to French and published in book form in 2011 as Skhirat to Tazmamart: Return from the Bottom of Hell.

Ahmed Marzouki's Tazmamart Cellule 10 (Tazmamart Cell 10) came out in 2000. There is also a more recent interview with him, translated to English, in Jadaliyya.

The account of  Ali Bourequat, In the Moroccan King's Secret Gardens (1998), is out of print. In 2000 Medhat Bourequat, another of the Bourequat brothers, published his account, Mort Vivant (Living Dead).

Tahar Ben Jelloun's Cette aveuglante absence de lumière (That Blinding Absence of Light) appeared in 2001 and was apparently based on a three-hour interview with Aziz Binebine, who wrote an open letter saying Ben Jelloun pressured him to talk and disavowed the novel.

Aziz Binebine's own testimony, Tazmamort, appeared in 2009. The English translation, by Lulu Norman, appeared this spring.

Binebine's brother, Mahi Binebine, has written a novel about their father, who was a favorite companion and court “jester” of Hassan II, and who disavowed his son when he was imprisoned, Le fou du roi. 

The Moroccan novelist Youssef Fadel features both the figure of the father/court jester and the prison of Tazmamart in his novels A Beautiful White Cat Walks With Me and A Rare Blue Bird Flies With Me.

We discussed the devastating Syrian prison memoir The Shell, by Mustafa Khalifa; and we talked about Morocco's years of lead previously in this episode.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about Morocco's most infamous secret prison; about fathers and sons; about survivors who tell their stories and writers who borrow (or steal?) them. 

Show Notes: 

Johanna Sellman “Memoirs from Tazmamart: Writing Strategies and Alternative Frameworks of Judgment” gives an overview of the survivors' writing about Tazmamart through 2006.

In 1999-2000, Mohamed Raiss published an account of his experiences serialized in Arabic. It was translated to French and published in book form in 2011 as Skhirat to Tazmamart: Return from the Bottom of Hell.

Ahmed Marzouki's Tazmamart Cellule 10 (Tazmamart Cell 10) came out in 2000. There is also a more recent interview with him, translated to English, in Jadaliyya.

The account of  Ali Bourequat, In the Moroccan King's Secret Gardens (1998), is out of print. In 2000 Medhat Bourequat, another of the Bourequat brothers, published his account, Mort Vivant (Living Dead).

Tahar Ben Jelloun's Cette aveuglante absence de lumière (That Blinding Absence of Light) appeared in 2001 and was apparently based on a three-hour interview with Aziz Binebine, who wrote an open letter saying Ben Jelloun pressured him to talk and disavowed the novel.

Aziz Binebine's own testimony, Tazmamort, appeared in 2009. The English translation, by Lulu Norman, appeared this spring.

Binebine's brother, Mahi Binebine, has written a novel about their father, who was a favorite companion and court “jester” of Hassan II, and who disavowed his son when he was imprisoned, Le fou du roi. 

The Moroccan novelist Youssef Fadel features both the figure of the father/court jester and the prison of Tazmamart in his novels A Beautiful White Cat Walks With Me and A Rare Blue Bird Flies With Me.

We discussed the devastating Syrian prison memoir The Shell, by Mustafa Khalifa; and we talked about Morocco's years of lead previously in this episode.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about Morocco's most infamous secret prison; about fathers and sons; about survivors who tell their stories and writers who borrow (or steal?) them. 

Show Notes: 

Johanna Sellman “Memoirs from Tazmamart: Writing Strategies and Alternative Frameworks of Judgment” gives an overview of the survivors' writing about Tazmamart through 2006.

In 1999-2000, Mohamed Raiss published an account of his experiences serialized in Arabic. It was translated to French and published in book form in 2011 as Skhirat to Tazmamart: Return from the Bottom of Hell.

Ahmed Marzouki's Tazmamart Cellule 10 (Tazmamart Cell 10) came out in 2000. There is also a more recent interview with him, translated to English, in Jadaliyya.

The account of  Ali Bourequat, In the Moroccan King's Secret Gardens (1998), is out of print. In 2000 Medhat Bourequat, another of the Bourequat brothers, published his account, Mort Vivant (Living Dead).

Tahar Ben Jelloun's Cette aveuglante absence de lumière (That Blinding Absence of Light) appeared in 2001 and was apparently based on a three-hour interview with Aziz Binebine, who wrote an open letter saying Ben Jelloun pressured him to talk and disavowed the novel.

Aziz Binebine's own testimony, Tazmamort, appeared in 2009. The English translation, by Lulu Norman, appeared this spring.

Binebine's brother, Mahi Binebine, has written a novel about their father, who was a favorite companion and court “jester” of Hassan II, and who disavowed his son when he was imprisoned, Le fou du roi. 

The Moroccan novelist Youssef Fadel features both the figure of the father/court jester and the prison of Tazmamart in his novels A Beautiful White Cat Walks With Me and A Rare Blue Bird Flies With Me.

We discussed the devastating Syrian prison memoir The Shell, by Mustafa Khalifa; and we talked about Morocco's years of lead previously in this episode.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we explore the relationship between cooking and writing. With special guest Anny Gaul, we talk about the origins of national dishes such as couscous and koshary; medieval Arabic cook books; and representations of kitchens and cooking in Egyptian literature. 

Show Notes:

Anny Gaul's writing and recipes, including the one on “bad translations” of hummus are online at cookingwithgaul.com. She wrote about Egyptian koshary as the dish we need right now for Eater. Her article on Abla Nazira's famous cookbooks is here. Her analysis of the depictions of cooking, kitchens and happiness in Egyptian writing can be found in the anthology Insatiable Appetite: Food as Cultural Signifier in the Middle East and Beyond. The essay on couscous from which she reads at the beginning of the episode can be found in the last issue of Arab Lit Quarterly. 

Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table: A Fourteenth-Century Egyptian Cookbook,  ed. and translated by Nawal Nasrallah and Scents and Flavors: A Syrian Cookbook, tr. Charles Perry, are both out in paperback this year. 

Many adapted recipes are available at Nawal Nasrallah's website, nawalcooking.blogspot.com.

The Library of Arabic Literature offers free Arabic-only PDFs of their works, including Scents and Flavors. 

This episode mentions the Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim's Zaat, in which the kitchen is a site of mishaps, set-backs and middle-class aspirations. 

Here are links to further recent writing in Arabic on food: 

CIC Collective Workshop, Taste of Letters

A historical essay in the Al Jazeera Culture Section

Novelist Nael El Toukhy in Mada Masr 

An essay on food in Ottoman era poetry

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we explore the relationship between cooking and writing. With special guest Anny Gaul, we talk about the origins of national dishes such as couscous and koshary; medieval Arabic cook books; and representations of kitchens and cooking in Egyptian literature. 

Show Notes:

Anny Gaul's writing and recipes, including the one on “bad translations” of hummus are online at cookingwithgaul.com. She wrote about Egyptian koshary as the dish we need right now for Eater. Her article on Abla Nazira's famous cookbooks is here. Her analysis of the depictions of cooking, kitchens and happiness in Egyptian writing can be found in the anthology Insatiable Appetite: Food as Cultural Signifier in the Middle East and Beyond. The essay on couscous from which she reads at the beginning of the episode can be found in the last issue of Arab Lit Quarterly. 

Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table: A Fourteenth-Century Egyptian Cookbook,  ed. and translated by Nawal Nasrallah and Scents and Flavors: A Syrian Cookbook, tr. Charles Perry, are both out in paperback this year. 

Many adapted recipes are available at Nawal Nasrallah's website, nawalcooking.blogspot.com.

The Library of Arabic Literature offers free Arabic-only PDFs of their works, including Scents and Flavors. 

This episode mentions the Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim's Zaat, in which the kitchen is a site of mishaps, set-backs and middle-class aspirations. 

Here are links to further recent writing in Arabic on food: 

CIC Collective Workshop, Taste of Letters

A historical essay in the Al Jazeera Culture Section

Novelist Nael El Toukhy in Mada Masr 

An essay on food in Ottoman era poetry

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we explore the relationship between cooking and writing. With special guest Anny Gaul, we talk about the origins of national dishes such as couscous and koshary; medieval Arabic cook books; and representations of kitchens and cooking in Egyptian literature. 

Show Notes:

Anny Gaul's writing and recipes, including the one on “bad translations” of hummus are online at cookingwithgaul.com. She wrote about Egyptian koshary as the dish we need right now for Eater. Her article on Abla Nazira's famous cookbooks is here. Her analysis of the depictions of cooking, kitchens and happiness in Egyptian writing can be found in the anthology Insatiable Appetite: Food as Cultural Signifier in the Middle East and Beyond. The essay on couscous from which she reads at the beginning of the episode can be found in the last issue of Arab Lit Quarterly. 

Treasure Trove of Benefits and Variety at the Table: A Fourteenth-Century Egyptian Cookbook,  ed. and translated by Nawal Nasrallah and Scents and Flavors: A Syrian Cookbook, tr. Charles Perry, are both out in paperback this year. 

Many adapted recipes are available at Nawal Nasrallah's website, nawalcooking.blogspot.com.

The Library of Arabic Literature offers free Arabic-only PDFs of their works, including Scents and Flavors. 

This episode mentions the Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim's Zaat, in which the kitchen is a site of mishaps, set-backs and middle-class aspirations. 

Here are links to further recent writing in Arabic on food: 

CIC Collective Workshop, Taste of Letters

A historical essay in the Al Jazeera Culture Section

Novelist Nael El Toukhy in Mada Masr 

An essay on food in Ottoman era poetry

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about a few new books — ones that provide a welcome escape, and ones that seem particularly daunting — and about how hard it is to write, read, think and imagine the future right now.

Show Notes:

Noor Naga's novel-in-verse Washes, Prays was published this spring. You can read more about it on Mada Masr and ArabLit.

Aziz Binebine's Tazmamart, Cellule 10 recently appeared in English as Tazmamart, translated by Lulu Norman. His brother Mahi Binebine's The King's Fool is forthcoming in Ben Faccini's translation in August.

Impostures is al-Hariri's classic Maqamat, many-Englished by Michael Cooperson and available now.

Mazen Kerbaj's coronavirus diaries are online at kerbajdiaries.com.

Alessandro Manzoni's I Promessi Sposi is a classic of Italian literature and recounts a 17th century plague in Milan. 

There has also been a fair amount of quarantine writing, such as the NYRB's Pandemic Journal. The Point is publishing a series of articles on what we watch and read during quarantine. 

Repression in Egypt continues even with covid-19. Alaa Abdel-Fattah went on a month-long hunger strike, Mada Masr editor Lina Attallah was detained and released on bail, and the latest to be targeted were a couple young (and apolitical) TikTok stars. 

New Arabic Translation Challenges are published each Tuesday with roundups on Saturday. Details here or by following #ArabicTranslationChallenge on Twitter.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about a few new books — ones that provide a welcome escape, and ones that seem particularly daunting — and about how hard it is to write, read, think and imagine the future right now.

Show Notes:

Noor Naga's novel-in-verse Washes, Prays was published this spring. You can read more about it on Mada Masr and ArabLit.

Aziz Binebine's Tazmamart, Cellule 10 recently appeared in English as Tazmamart, translated by Lulu Norman. His brother Mahi Binebine's The King's Fool is forthcoming in Ben Faccini's translation in August.

Impostures is al-Hariri's classic Maqamat, many-Englished by Michael Cooperson and available now.

Mazen Kerbaj's coronavirus diaries are online at kerbajdiaries.com.

Alessandro Manzoni's I Promessi Sposi is a classic of Italian literature and recounts a 17th century plague in Milan. 

There has also been a fair amount of quarantine writing, such as the NYRB's Pandemic Journal. The Point is publishing a series of articles on what we watch and read during quarantine. 

Repression in Egypt continues even with covid-19. Alaa Abdel-Fattah went on a month-long hunger strike, Mada Masr editor Lina Attallah was detained and released on bail, and the latest to be targeted were a couple young (and apolitical) TikTok stars. 

New Arabic Translation Challenges are published each Tuesday with roundups on Saturday. Details here or by following #ArabicTranslationChallenge on Twitter.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about a few new books — ones that provide a welcome escape, and ones that seem particularly daunting — and about how hard it is to write, read, think and imagine the future right now.

Show Notes:

Noor Naga's novel-in-verse Washes, Prays was published this spring. You can read more about it on Mada Masr and ArabLit.

Aziz Binebine's Tazmamart, Cellule 10 recently appeared in English as Tazmamart, translated by Lulu Norman. His brother Mahi Binebine's The King's Fool is forthcoming in Ben Faccini's translation in August.

Impostures is al-Hariri's classic Maqamat, many-Englished by Michael Cooperson and available now.

Mazen Kerbaj's coronavirus diaries are online at kerbajdiaries.com.

Alessandro Manzoni's I Promessi Sposi is a classic of Italian literature and recounts a 17th century plague in Milan. 

There has also been a fair amount of quarantine writing, such as the NYRB's Pandemic Journal. The Point is publishing a series of articles on what we watch and read during quarantine. 

Repression in Egypt continues even with covid-19. Alaa Abdel-Fattah went on a month-long hunger strike, Mada Masr editor Lina Attallah was detained and released on bail, and the latest to be targeted were a couple young (and apolitical) TikTok stars. 

New Arabic Translation Challenges are published each Tuesday with roundups on Saturday. Details here or by following #ArabicTranslationChallenge on Twitter.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1993, the Egyptian poet and writer Iman Mersal picked up an unknown novel by a forgotten writer from the 60s. And so began her long wanderings in search of Enayat El Zayat. El Zayat killed herself in 1963, four years before her book “Love and Silence” was finally published. Mersal's portrait of El Zayat is a remarkable work of research, empathy and imagination. 

Show Notes: 

This episode focuses on Iman Mersal's In the Footsteps of Enayat al-Zayyat (في أثر عنايات الزيات), published by Kotob Khan Books in late 2019.

The author Enayat al-Zayyat (1936-63) finished one novel, which was published in 1967. 

Love and Silence ‫(الحب و الصمت) ‬ was recently republished and is available on Google Play.

Al-Zayyat was also working on a second novel, based around the German Egyptologist Ludwig Keimar; you can read Isolde Lehnert on Keimar.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1993, the Egyptian poet and writer Iman Mersal picked up an unknown novel by a forgotten writer from the 60s. And so began her long wanderings in search of Enayat El Zayat. El Zayat killed herself in 1963, four years before her book “Love and Silence” was finally published. Mersal's portrait of El Zayat is a remarkable work of research, empathy and imagination. 

Show Notes: 

This episode focuses on Iman Mersal's In the Footsteps of Enayat al-Zayyat (في أثر عنايات الزيات), published by Kotob Khan Books in late 2019.

The author Enayat al-Zayyat (1936-63) finished one novel, which was published in 1967. 

Love and Silence ‫(الحب و الصمت) ‬ was recently republished and is available on Google Play.

Al-Zayyat was also working on a second novel, based around the German Egyptologist Ludwig Keimar; you can read Isolde Lehnert on Keimar.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 1993, the Egyptian poet and writer Iman Mersal picked up an unknown novel by a forgotten writer from the 60s. And so began her long wanderings in search of Enayat El Zayat. El Zayat killed herself in 1963, four years before her book “Love and Silence” was finally published. Mersal's portrait of El Zayat is a remarkable work of research, empathy and imagination. 

Show Notes: 

This episode focuses on Iman Mersal's In the Footsteps of Enayat al-Zayyat (في أثر عنايات الزيات), published by Kotob Khan Books in late 2019.

The author Enayat al-Zayyat (1936-63) finished one novel, which was published in 1967. 

Love and Silence ‫(الحب و الصمت) ‬ was recently republished and is available on Google Play.

Al-Zayyat was also working on a second novel, based around the German Egyptologist Ludwig Keimar; you can read Isolde Lehnert on Keimar.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

للاستماع إلى بودكاست بعد أمس http://aj.audio/click 

We discuss an acclaimed novel set during the first Palestinian Intifada and one inspired by a tiny, legendary bookstore in Algiers. 

Show Notes:

This year, the International Prize for Arabic Fiction—which went to Abdelouahab Aissaoui's The Spartan Court—and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award—which had winners in seven categories—both had awards ceremonies on YouTube. 

MLQ will also participate in the now-online Sant Jordi Literary Festival (April 23-25), having recorded discussions with Elisabeth Jaquette about her translation of The Frightened Ones (by Dima Wannous) and Sawad Hussain about her translation of Bab as-Saha, or The Passage to the Plaza (by Sahar Khalifeh). 

Khalifeh's classic 1990 novel The Passage to the Plaza is newly out in English from Seagull Books.

Kaouther Adimi's Our Riches, translated by Chris Andrews, is also newly out from  New Directions; it follows the story of Edmond Charlot  and Les Vraies Richesses bookshop in Algiers.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

للاستماع إلى بودكاست بعد أمس http://aj.audio/click 

We discuss an acclaimed novel set during the first Palestinian Intifada and one inspired by a tiny, legendary bookstore in Algiers. 

Show Notes:

This year, the International Prize for Arabic Fiction—which went to Abdelouahab Aissaoui's The Spartan Court—and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award—which had winners in seven categories—both had awards ceremonies on YouTube. 

MLQ will also participate in the now-online Sant Jordi Literary Festival (April 23-25), having recorded discussions with Elisabeth Jaquette about her translation of The Frightened Ones (by Dima Wannous) and Sawad Hussain about her translation of Bab as-Saha, or The Passage to the Plaza (by Sahar Khalifeh). 

Khalifeh's classic 1990 novel The Passage to the Plaza is newly out in English from Seagull Books.

Kaouther Adimi's Our Riches, translated by Chris Andrews, is also newly out from  New Directions; it follows the story of Edmond Charlot  and Les Vraies Richesses bookshop in Algiers.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

للاستماع إلى بودكاست بعد أمس http://aj.audio/click 

We discuss an acclaimed novel set during the first Palestinian Intifada and one inspired by a tiny, legendary bookstore in Algiers. 

Show Notes:

This year, the International Prize for Arabic Fiction—which went to Abdelouahab Aissaoui's The Spartan Court—and the Sheikh Zayed Book Award—which had winners in seven categories—both had awards ceremonies on YouTube. 

MLQ will also participate in the now-online Sant Jordi Literary Festival (April 23-25), having recorded discussions with Elisabeth Jaquette about her translation of The Frightened Ones (by Dima Wannous) and Sawad Hussain about her translation of Bab as-Saha, or The Passage to the Plaza (by Sahar Khalifeh). 

Khalifeh's classic 1990 novel The Passage to the Plaza is newly out in English from Seagull Books.

Kaouther Adimi's Our Riches, translated by Chris Andrews, is also newly out from  New Directions; it follows the story of Edmond Charlot  and Les Vraies Richesses bookshop in Algiers.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

للاستماع إلى بودكاست بعد أمس http://aj.audio/click 

We spend most of this episode discussing the work and life of the Syrian playwright Sa'dallah Wannous, and how strongly it relates to repression, resistance and art in the Arab region today.

SHOW NOTES:

• A new Sa'dallah Wannous reader, Sentence to Hope (ed. and trans. Robert Myers and Nada Saab) brings together four translations of plays as well as essays by and interviews with the great Syrian playwright (1941-1996).

• Read more about reading Wannous in Syria in Matthew McNaught's  essay “Yarmouk Miniatures” and about Arwa Salih and the Arab left to which he belonged in Ursula's “Lessons of Defeat: Testimonies of the Arab left.”

• The founder of Egypt's Dar Tanmia Bookshop and Publishing, Khaled Lutfi, was sentenced to five years in a military trial at the beginning of February. A statement of support for Lutfi has been circulating online, in Arabic and English.

• The Egyptian novelist Ahmed Naji currently lives in the US after serving two years in jail on indecency charges.

• The photographer we mention is Mohamed Abu Zeid – Shawkan – who should never have been jailed in the first place and is currently being held unlawfully beyond his release date.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

للاستماع إلى بودكاست بعد أمس http://aj.audio/click 

We spend most of this episode discussing the work and life of the Syrian playwright Sa'dallah Wannous, and how strongly it relates to repression, resistance and art in the Arab region today.

SHOW NOTES:

• A new Sa'dallah Wannous reader, Sentence to Hope (ed. and trans. Robert Myers and Nada Saab) brings together four translations of plays as well as essays by and interviews with the great Syrian playwright (1941-1996).

• Read more about reading Wannous in Syria in Matthew McNaught's  essay “Yarmouk Miniatures” and about Arwa Salih and the Arab left to which he belonged in Ursula's “Lessons of Defeat: Testimonies of the Arab left.”

• The founder of Egypt's Dar Tanmia Bookshop and Publishing, Khaled Lutfi, was sentenced to five years in a military trial at the beginning of February. A statement of support for Lutfi has been circulating online, in Arabic and English.

• The Egyptian novelist Ahmed Naji currently lives in the US after serving two years in jail on indecency charges.

• The photographer we mention is Mohamed Abu Zeid – Shawkan – who should never have been jailed in the first place and is currently being held unlawfully beyond his release date.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

للاستماع إلى بودكاست بعد أمس http://aj.audio/click 

We spend most of this episode discussing the work and life of the Syrian playwright Sa'dallah Wannous, and how strongly it relates to repression, resistance and art in the Arab region today.

SHOW NOTES:

• A new Sa'dallah Wannous reader, Sentence to Hope (ed. and trans. Robert Myers and Nada Saab) brings together four translations of plays as well as essays by and interviews with the great Syrian playwright (1941-1996).

• Read more about reading Wannous in Syria in Matthew McNaught's  essay “Yarmouk Miniatures” and about Arwa Salih and the Arab left to which he belonged in Ursula's “Lessons of Defeat: Testimonies of the Arab left.”

• The founder of Egypt's Dar Tanmia Bookshop and Publishing, Khaled Lutfi, was sentenced to five years in a military trial at the beginning of February. A statement of support for Lutfi has been circulating online, in Arabic and English.

• The Egyptian novelist Ahmed Naji currently lives in the US after serving two years in jail on indecency charges.

• The photographer we mention is Mohamed Abu Zeid – Shawkan – who should never have been jailed in the first place and is currently being held unlawfully beyond his release date.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about the Syrian writer Dima Wannous' haunting novel The Frightened Ones, translated by Elisabeth Jacquette. It's a book about fear, panic and anxiety -- in one's body and society, between generations and lovers -- that is also somehow a great pleasure to read.

Show Notes:

The Frightened Ones was shortlisted for the 2018 International Prize for Arabic Fiction; its English translation is now out in the UK and forthcoming in the US. 

We discussed the work of Wannous' father, the brilliant playwright Sa'adallah Wannous, in episode 28, “Sentenced to Hope.” 

We mentioned concerns over the spread of COVID-19 in Egyptian prisons. Political prisoner Alaa Abdel Fattah wrote an essay on health and prison before the pandemic. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about the Syrian writer Dima Wannous' haunting novel The Frightened Ones, translated by Elisabeth Jacquette. It's a book about fear, panic and anxiety -- in one's body and society, between generations and lovers -- that is also somehow a great pleasure to read.

Show Notes:

The Frightened Ones was shortlisted for the 2018 International Prize for Arabic Fiction; its English translation is now out in the UK and forthcoming in the US. 

We discussed the work of Wannous' father, the brilliant playwright Sa'adallah Wannous, in episode 28, “Sentenced to Hope.” 

We mentioned concerns over the spread of COVID-19 in Egyptian prisons. Political prisoner Alaa Abdel Fattah wrote an essay on health and prison before the pandemic. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about the Syrian writer Dima Wannous' haunting novel The Frightened Ones, translated by Elisabeth Jacquette. It's a book about fear, panic and anxiety -- in one's body and society, between generations and lovers -- that is also somehow a great pleasure to read.

Show Notes:

The Frightened Ones was shortlisted for the 2018 International Prize for Arabic Fiction; its English translation is now out in the UK and forthcoming in the US. 

We discussed the work of Wannous' father, the brilliant playwright Sa'adallah Wannous, in episode 28, “Sentenced to Hope.” 

We mentioned concerns over the spread of COVID-19 in Egyptian prisons. Political prisoner Alaa Abdel Fattah wrote an essay on health and prison before the pandemic. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We take a look at a new book about the architecture of twentieth century Cairo, and discuss the Egyptian capital's past, present and future, and the way writers have shaped our view of it.  

Show Notes:

Mohamed Elshahed's architectural survey Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide is newly released from AUC Press, with a foreward by Mercedes Volait. 

Elshahed's longtime blog, Cairobserver, is a must-read for anyone interested in the built world.

 Another recent book that maps Cairo is Humphrey Davies and Lesley Lababidi's A Field Guide to the Street Names of Central Cairo; N.A. Mansour recently wrote about both A Field Guide and Cairo Since 1900 in “Two New Books Preserving Cairo's Urban Landscape.”

 Tawfiq al-Hakim's The Prison of Life: An Autobiographical Essay, in which he describes his father's time as an amateur architect, was translated by Pierre Cachia. Other Egyptian literary works that feature architects include Reem Bassiouney's novel Mortal Designs, translated by Melanie Magidow, and Naguib Mahfouz's play The Legacy. 

Also discussed in this episode are Hamdi Abu Golayyel's novels Thieves in retirement (trans. Marilyn Booth) and A Dog With No Tale (trans. Robin Moger).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We take a look at a new book about the architecture of twentieth century Cairo, and discuss the Egyptian capital's past, present and future, and the way writers have shaped our view of it.  

Show Notes:

Mohamed Elshahed's architectural survey Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide is newly released from AUC Press, with a foreward by Mercedes Volait. 

Elshahed's longtime blog, Cairobserver, is a must-read for anyone interested in the built world.

 Another recent book that maps Cairo is Humphrey Davies and Lesley Lababidi's A Field Guide to the Street Names of Central Cairo; N.A. Mansour recently wrote about both A Field Guide and Cairo Since 1900 in “Two New Books Preserving Cairo's Urban Landscape.”

 Tawfiq al-Hakim's The Prison of Life: An Autobiographical Essay, in which he describes his father's time as an amateur architect, was translated by Pierre Cachia. Other Egyptian literary works that feature architects include Reem Bassiouney's novel Mortal Designs, translated by Melanie Magidow, and Naguib Mahfouz's play The Legacy. 

Also discussed in this episode are Hamdi Abu Golayyel's novels Thieves in retirement (trans. Marilyn Booth) and A Dog With No Tale (trans. Robin Moger).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We take a look at a new book about the architecture of twentieth century Cairo, and discuss the Egyptian capital's past, present and future, and the way writers have shaped our view of it.  

Show Notes:

Mohamed Elshahed's architectural survey Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide is newly released from AUC Press, with a foreward by Mercedes Volait. 

Elshahed's longtime blog, Cairobserver, is a must-read for anyone interested in the built world.

 Another recent book that maps Cairo is Humphrey Davies and Lesley Lababidi's A Field Guide to the Street Names of Central Cairo; N.A. Mansour recently wrote about both A Field Guide and Cairo Since 1900 in “Two New Books Preserving Cairo's Urban Landscape.”

 Tawfiq al-Hakim's The Prison of Life: An Autobiographical Essay, in which he describes his father's time as an amateur architect, was translated by Pierre Cachia. Other Egyptian literary works that feature architects include Reem Bassiouney's novel Mortal Designs, translated by Melanie Magidow, and Naguib Mahfouz's play The Legacy. 

Also discussed in this episode are Hamdi Abu Golayyel's novels Thieves in retirement (trans. Marilyn Booth) and A Dog With No Tale (trans. Robin Moger).

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

للاستماع إلى بودكاست بعد أمس http://aj.audio/click 

We talk about the landscape and history of independent publishing in the region, our own experiences working for and launching publications, the conundrum of funding, and the magic of little magazines. 

Show Notes:

This episode is partly inspired by an exhibition at the MMAG Foundation in Amman: How to Reappear Through the Quivering Leaves of Independent Publishing

The exhibition was curated by the publishing platform Kayfa ta, founded by artists Maha Maamoun and Ala Younis 

Here is a review by Kaelen Wilson-Goldie of the same exhibition when it took place in Beirut 

The exhibition featured the work of the Post-Apollo Press, among others

Some of the contemporary magazines mentioned in this episode are: Rusted Radishes, Bidayat, Qadita, Ma3azef, The Public Source, Raseef22, Nejma, Mada Masr, 7iber, as well as comix collectives: Skefkef, Samandal, Toktok, Garage, Fanzeen, Lab 619

The Moroccan magazine Souffles, published from 1966 to 1971, was a hugely influential experiment 

Zahia Rahmani and other scholars at the French Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art have created an eye-opening archive of non-European critical and cultural magazines

City of Beginnings: Poetic Modernism in Beirut, by Robyn Creswell (2019) is “an intellectual history of Lebanon during the early Cold War” that focuses on the magazine Shi'r (“Poetry”) 

Another Lebanese magazine, Hiwar, was (in)famously funded by the CIA.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

للاستماع إلى بودكاست بعد أمس http://aj.audio/click 

We talk about the landscape and history of independent publishing in the region, our own experiences working for and launching publications, the conundrum of funding, and the magic of little magazines. 

Show Notes:

This episode is partly inspired by an exhibition at the MMAG Foundation in Amman: How to Reappear Through the Quivering Leaves of Independent Publishing

The exhibition was curated by the publishing platform Kayfa ta, founded by artists Maha Maamoun and Ala Younis 

Here is a review by Kaelen Wilson-Goldie of the same exhibition when it took place in Beirut 

The exhibition featured the work of the Post-Apollo Press, among others

Some of the contemporary magazines mentioned in this episode are: Rusted Radishes, Bidayat, Qadita, Ma3azef, The Public Source, Raseef22, Nejma, Mada Masr, 7iber, as well as comix collectives: Skefkef, Samandal, Toktok, Garage, Fanzeen, Lab 619

The Moroccan magazine Souffles, published from 1966 to 1971, was a hugely influential experiment 

Zahia Rahmani and other scholars at the French Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art have created an eye-opening archive of non-European critical and cultural magazines

City of Beginnings: Poetic Modernism in Beirut, by Robyn Creswell (2019) is “an intellectual history of Lebanon during the early Cold War” that focuses on the magazine Shi'r (“Poetry”) 

Another Lebanese magazine, Hiwar, was (in)famously funded by the CIA.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

للاستماع إلى بودكاست بعد أمس http://aj.audio/click 

We talk about the landscape and history of independent publishing in the region, our own experiences working for and launching publications, the conundrum of funding, and the magic of little magazines. 

Show Notes:

This episode is partly inspired by an exhibition at the MMAG Foundation in Amman: How to Reappear Through the Quivering Leaves of Independent Publishing

The exhibition was curated by the publishing platform Kayfa ta, founded by artists Maha Maamoun and Ala Younis 

Here is a review by Kaelen Wilson-Goldie of the same exhibition when it took place in Beirut 

The exhibition featured the work of the Post-Apollo Press, among others

Some of the contemporary magazines mentioned in this episode are: Rusted Radishes, Bidayat, Qadita, Ma3azef, The Public Source, Raseef22, Nejma, Mada Masr, 7iber, as well as comix collectives: Skefkef, Samandal, Toktok, Garage, Fanzeen, Lab 619

The Moroccan magazine Souffles, published from 1966 to 1971, was a hugely influential experiment 

Zahia Rahmani and other scholars at the French Institut National d'Histoire de l'Art have created an eye-opening archive of non-European critical and cultural magazines

City of Beginnings: Poetic Modernism in Beirut, by Robyn Creswell (2019) is “an intellectual history of Lebanon during the early Cold War” that focuses on the magazine Shi'r (“Poetry”) 

Another Lebanese magazine, Hiwar, was (in)famously funded by the CIA.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

للاستماع إلى بودكاست بعد أمس http://aj.audio/click 

This episode focuses on Driss Chraibi's The Simple Past (Le Passé Simple), a Moroccan novel about a very angry young man in revolt against his father's tyranny and the hypocrisies of his colonial education. Back in 1954, it was compared to an explosion – and it still packs a punch today. 

Show Notes:

The Simple Past was newly re-issued from NYRB Classics in Hugh A. Harter's 1990 translation, with a new introduction from Adam Shatz. Shatz's introduction is available online at the NYR Daily.

Excerpts from Chraibi's interview with Federico Arbós can be found at Fragmentos de la entrevista con Federico Arbós, El Mundo/La Esfera, 28/3/92.

This episode also references Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy and the father figure of Si Sayyed; Waguih Ghali's Beer in the Snooker Club; and Tayib Saleh's Season of Migration to the North.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

للاستماع إلى بودكاست بعد أمس http://aj.audio/click 

This episode focuses on Driss Chraibi's The Simple Past (Le Passé Simple), a Moroccan novel about a very angry young man in revolt against his father's tyranny and the hypocrisies of his colonial education. Back in 1954, it was compared to an explosion – and it still packs a punch today. 

Show Notes:

The Simple Past was newly re-issued from NYRB Classics in Hugh A. Harter's 1990 translation, with a new introduction from Adam Shatz. Shatz's introduction is available online at the NYR Daily.

Excerpts from Chraibi's interview with Federico Arbós can be found at Fragmentos de la entrevista con Federico Arbós, El Mundo/La Esfera, 28/3/92.

This episode also references Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy and the father figure of Si Sayyed; Waguih Ghali's Beer in the Snooker Club; and Tayib Saleh's Season of Migration to the North.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

للاستماع إلى بودكاست بعد أمس http://aj.audio/click 

This episode focuses on Driss Chraibi's The Simple Past (Le Passé Simple), a Moroccan novel about a very angry young man in revolt against his father's tyranny and the hypocrisies of his colonial education. Back in 1954, it was compared to an explosion – and it still packs a punch today. 

Show Notes:

The Simple Past was newly re-issued from NYRB Classics in Hugh A. Harter's 1990 translation, with a new introduction from Adam Shatz. Shatz's introduction is available online at the NYR Daily.

Excerpts from Chraibi's interview with Federico Arbós can be found at Fragmentos de la entrevista con Federico Arbós, El Mundo/La Esfera, 28/3/92.

This episode also references Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy and the father figure of Si Sayyed; Waguih Ghali's Beer in the Snooker Club; and Tayib Saleh's Season of Migration to the North.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We recorded this episode in Cairo with author, translator, and Mada Masr culture editor Yasmine Zohdi. We talked about making art in difficult and precarious times; how to acknowledge the political context; censorship and self-censorship. 

“What we talk about when we talk about trees,” by Yasmine Zohdi, ran in Mada Masr in December of last year.

We also spoke about the shrinking of cultural spaces in Cairo.

Zohdi also translates, including her husband Muhammad al-Hajj's beautiful Nobody Mourns the City's Cats.

MLQ was in Cairo for the ARCE symposium on popular culture. Essays from and inspired by the symposium will be appearing at The Maydan.

An excerpt of the Egyptian novel Prizes for Heroes was translated as part of Mada Masr's translation series.

The Egyptian film Yomeddine (“Judgement Day”) was part of the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We recorded this episode in Cairo with author, translator, and Mada Masr culture editor Yasmine Zohdi. We talked about making art in difficult and precarious times; how to acknowledge the political context; censorship and self-censorship. 

“What we talk about when we talk about trees,” by Yasmine Zohdi, ran in Mada Masr in December of last year.

We also spoke about the shrinking of cultural spaces in Cairo.

Zohdi also translates, including her husband Muhammad al-Hajj's beautiful Nobody Mourns the City's Cats.

MLQ was in Cairo for the ARCE symposium on popular culture. Essays from and inspired by the symposium will be appearing at The Maydan.

An excerpt of the Egyptian novel Prizes for Heroes was translated as part of Mada Masr's translation series.

The Egyptian film Yomeddine (“Judgement Day”) was part of the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We recorded this episode in Cairo with author, translator, and Mada Masr culture editor Yasmine Zohdi. We talked about making art in difficult and precarious times; how to acknowledge the political context; censorship and self-censorship. 

“What we talk about when we talk about trees,” by Yasmine Zohdi, ran in Mada Masr in December of last year.

We also spoke about the shrinking of cultural spaces in Cairo.

Zohdi also translates, including her husband Muhammad al-Hajj's beautiful Nobody Mourns the City's Cats.

MLQ was in Cairo for the ARCE symposium on popular culture. Essays from and inspired by the symposium will be appearing at The Maydan.

An excerpt of the Egyptian novel Prizes for Heroes was translated as part of Mada Masr's translation series.

The Egyptian film Yomeddine (“Judgement Day”) was part of the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss some of our favorite books from the past year, and some titles we're excited to get our hands on soon. 

Show Notes

•     Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World, ed. Zahra Hankir 
•     Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem, tr. Sinan Antoon
•     Palestine + 100, ed. Basma Ghalayini
•     Palestine as Metaphor, by Mahmoud Darwish, tr. Amira El-Zein and Carolyn Forché
•       Room 304 or How I Hid from My Dear Father for 35 Years by Amr Ezzat, tr. Nora Amin and Yasmine Zohdi
•     Souls of Edo, by Stella Gaitano, is available from Rafiki Printing and Publishing
•     Celestial Bodies, by Jokha al-Harthi, tr. Marilyn Booth; you can watch the clip from their CNN interview on Twitter.
•     Sentence to Hope: A Sa'dallah Wannous Reader by Sa'dallah Wannous, tr. Nada Saab and Robert Myers
•     Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide by Mohamed Elshahed
•     The Magnificent Conman of Cairo by Adel Kamel, tr. Waleed Almusharaf
•     Impostures by al-Hariri, translated by Michael Cooperson

·      In Pursuit of Enayat al-Zayat by Iman Mersal

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss some of our favorite books from the past year, and some titles we're excited to get our hands on soon. 

Show Notes

•     Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World, ed. Zahra Hankir 
•     Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem, tr. Sinan Antoon
•     Palestine + 100, ed. Basma Ghalayini
•     Palestine as Metaphor, by Mahmoud Darwish, tr. Amira El-Zein and Carolyn Forché
•       Room 304 or How I Hid from My Dear Father for 35 Years by Amr Ezzat, tr. Nora Amin and Yasmine Zohdi
•     Souls of Edo, by Stella Gaitano, is available from Rafiki Printing and Publishing
•     Celestial Bodies, by Jokha al-Harthi, tr. Marilyn Booth; you can watch the clip from their CNN interview on Twitter.
•     Sentence to Hope: A Sa'dallah Wannous Reader by Sa'dallah Wannous, tr. Nada Saab and Robert Myers
•     Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide by Mohamed Elshahed
•     The Magnificent Conman of Cairo by Adel Kamel, tr. Waleed Almusharaf
•     Impostures by al-Hariri, translated by Michael Cooperson

·      In Pursuit of Enayat al-Zayat by Iman Mersal

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We discuss some of our favorite books from the past year, and some titles we're excited to get our hands on soon. 

Show Notes

•     Our Women on the Ground: Essays by Arab Women Reporting from the Arab World, ed. Zahra Hankir 
•     Book of Disappearance by Ibtisam Azem, tr. Sinan Antoon
•     Palestine + 100, ed. Basma Ghalayini
•     Palestine as Metaphor, by Mahmoud Darwish, tr. Amira El-Zein and Carolyn Forché
•       Room 304 or How I Hid from My Dear Father for 35 Years by Amr Ezzat, tr. Nora Amin and Yasmine Zohdi
•     Souls of Edo, by Stella Gaitano, is available from Rafiki Printing and Publishing
•     Celestial Bodies, by Jokha al-Harthi, tr. Marilyn Booth; you can watch the clip from their CNN interview on Twitter.
•     Sentence to Hope: A Sa'dallah Wannous Reader by Sa'dallah Wannous, tr. Nada Saab and Robert Myers
•     Cairo Since 1900: An Architectural Guide by Mohamed Elshahed
•     The Magnificent Conman of Cairo by Adel Kamel, tr. Waleed Almusharaf
•     Impostures by al-Hariri, translated by Michael Cooperson

·      In Pursuit of Enayat al-Zayat by Iman Mersal

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about a newly released collection of five compelling and highly quotable interviews with the great late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, titled Palestine as Metaphor, translated by Amira El-Zein and Carolyn Forché. We also talk about recent protests in Lebanon and how they are being written about in Lebanese and international media, as well as the frightening day when the independent Egyptian news site Mada Masr’s offices were raided and editors detained. (All of Mada’s staff has now been released). This episode was partly recorded and produced in the offices of the Sowt network.

SHOW NOTES

• The Great Lebanese Ponzi Scheme by Lina Mounzer

• The Lebanese Street Asks: ‘Which Is Stronger, Sect or Hunger?’ by Ursula Lindsey

• On Power, Machines, and Departures: Running Mada Masr in Today’s Egypt by Lina Attalah.

• A few things you might like to know about us, by Lina Attalah

• Palestine as Metaphor by Mahmoud Darwish, tr. Amira El-Zein and Carolyn Forché

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about a newly released collection of five compelling and highly quotable interviews with the great late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, titled Palestine as Metaphor, translated by Amira El-Zein and Carolyn Forché. We also talk about recent protests in Lebanon and how they are being written about in Lebanese and international media, as well as the frightening day when the independent Egyptian news site Mada Masr’s offices were raided and editors detained. (All of Mada’s staff has now been released). This episode was partly recorded and produced in the offices of the Sowt network.

SHOW NOTES

• The Great Lebanese Ponzi Scheme by Lina Mounzer

• The Lebanese Street Asks: ‘Which Is Stronger, Sect or Hunger?’ by Ursula Lindsey

• On Power, Machines, and Departures: Running Mada Masr in Today’s Egypt by Lina Attalah.

• A few things you might like to know about us, by Lina Attalah

• Palestine as Metaphor by Mahmoud Darwish, tr. Amira El-Zein and Carolyn Forché

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about a newly released collection of five compelling and highly quotable interviews with the great late Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, titled Palestine as Metaphor, translated by Amira El-Zein and Carolyn Forché. We also talk about recent protests in Lebanon and how they are being written about in Lebanese and international media, as well as the frightening day when the independent Egyptian news site Mada Masr’s offices were raided and editors detained. (All of Mada’s staff has now been released). This episode was partly recorded and produced in the offices of the Sowt network.

SHOW NOTES

• The Great Lebanese Ponzi Scheme by Lina Mounzer

• The Lebanese Street Asks: ‘Which Is Stronger, Sect or Hunger?’ by Ursula Lindsey

• On Power, Machines, and Departures: Running Mada Masr in Today’s Egypt by Lina Attalah.

• A few things you might like to know about us, by Lina Attalah

• Palestine as Metaphor by Mahmoud Darwish, tr. Amira El-Zein and Carolyn Forché

Permalink

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In the first half of the episode, we paid tribute to Jordanian poet, activist, novelist, travel writer, and editor Amjad Nasser (1955-2019), who died at the end of October. In the second, we talked about the political space occupied by Moroccan-French writers Tahar Ben Jelloun and Leïla Slimani, particularly in the wake of the trial against—and pardon of—Moroccan journalist Hajar Raissouni over an alleged abortion. What is a writer’s responsibility in a society, or between societies? And what about those of us who talk about, report on, and frame literature? (This episode partly recorded and produced in the offices of the Sowt network). 

SHOW NOTES

• A short English-language tribute to Amjad Nasser on ArabLit, and a longer one in Arabic on 7iber.

• Nassar’s recent poems are available on Facebookbutnot yet in translation.Other poems have been translated by Sinan Antoon and Fady Joudahand by the Poetry Translation Center. 

• The letter in Le Monde, co-composed by Slimani, « Nous, citoyennes et citoyens marocains, déclarons que nous sommes hors la loi,» and also the pieces about Slimani in The New Yorkerand LitHub. Since we aired the episode, another fawning profile of Slimanihas been published in Le Monde.

• Tahar Ben Jelloun, writing in Le Point: “Vous, obscurantistes, êtes en train de prendre le Maroc de la modernité en otage.”

• Also the criticism of both writers by Omar Brousky in Orient XXI.

• Ursula’s editorial in the New York Timesabout the Hajar Raissouni case.

• Ben Jelloun’s On Terrorism: Conversations with My Daughterwill be coming to English in February 2020.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first half of the episode, we paid tribute to Jordanian poet, activist, novelist, travel writer, and editor Amjad Nasser (1955-2019), who died at the end of October. In the second, we talked about the political space occupied by Moroccan-French writers Tahar Ben Jelloun and Leïla Slimani, particularly in the wake of the trial against—and pardon of—Moroccan journalist Hajar Raissouni over an alleged abortion. What is a writer’s responsibility in a society, or between societies? And what about those of us who talk about, report on, and frame literature? (This episode partly recorded and produced in the offices of the Sowt network). 

SHOW NOTES

• A short English-language tribute to Amjad Nasser on ArabLit, and a longer one in Arabic on 7iber.

• Nassar’s recent poems are available on Facebookbutnot yet in translation.Other poems have been translated by Sinan Antoon and Fady Joudahand by the Poetry Translation Center. 

• The letter in Le Monde, co-composed by Slimani, « Nous, citoyennes et citoyens marocains, déclarons que nous sommes hors la loi,» and also the pieces about Slimani in The New Yorkerand LitHub. Since we aired the episode, another fawning profile of Slimanihas been published in Le Monde.

• Tahar Ben Jelloun, writing in Le Point: “Vous, obscurantistes, êtes en train de prendre le Maroc de la modernité en otage.”

• Also the criticism of both writers by Omar Brousky in Orient XXI.

• Ursula’s editorial in the New York Timesabout the Hajar Raissouni case.

• Ben Jelloun’s On Terrorism: Conversations with My Daughterwill be coming to English in February 2020.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the first half of the episode, we paid tribute to Jordanian poet, activist, novelist, travel writer, and editor Amjad Nasser (1955-2019), who died at the end of October. In the second, we talked about the political space occupied by Moroccan-French writers Tahar Ben Jelloun and Leïla Slimani, particularly in the wake of the trial against—and pardon of—Moroccan journalist Hajar Raissouni over an alleged abortion. What is a writer’s responsibility in a society, or between societies? And what about those of us who talk about, report on, and frame literature? (This episode partly recorded and produced in the offices of the Sowt network). 

SHOW NOTES

• A short English-language tribute to Amjad Nasser on ArabLit, and a longer one in Arabic on 7iber.

• Nassar’s recent poems are available on Facebookbutnot yet in translation.Other poems have been translated by Sinan Antoon and Fady Joudahand by the Poetry Translation Center. 

• The letter in Le Monde, co-composed by Slimani, « Nous, citoyennes et citoyens marocains, déclarons que nous sommes hors la loi,» and also the pieces about Slimani in The New Yorkerand LitHub. Since we aired the episode, another fawning profile of Slimanihas been published in Le Monde.

• Tahar Ben Jelloun, writing in Le Point: “Vous, obscurantistes, êtes en train de prendre le Maroc de la modernité en otage.”

• Also the criticism of both writers by Omar Brousky in Orient XXI.

• Ursula’s editorial in the New York Timesabout the Hajar Raissouni case.

• Ben Jelloun’s On Terrorism: Conversations with My Daughterwill be coming to English in February 2020.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss two novels set in Iraq -- one featuring a despondent policeman, and one featuring a determined grandma and her donkey. Also, how John Updike once dismissed the great Saudi writer Abdelrahman Mounif as "insufficiently Westernized" to write a novel.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss two novels set in Iraq -- one featuring a despondent policeman, and one featuring a determined grandma and her donkey. Also, how John Updike once dismissed the great Saudi writer Abdelrahman Mounif as "insufficiently Westernized" to write a novel.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We discuss two novels set in Iraq -- one featuring a despondent policeman, and one featuring a determined grandma and her donkey. Also, how John Updike once dismissed the great Saudi writer Abdelrahman Mounif as "insufficiently Westernized" to write a novel.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about two festivals (one long-established, one brand new) that celebrate Palestinian literature; an author who was penalized for supporting BDS; and a book that asks the question: What would happen if Palestinians simply disappeared? (And once again we recorded this episode in the studio of the wonderful Sowt platform in Amman).

Show Notes

• Jayne Cortez’s poem “There It Is” was performed by Sapphire at Palfest 2014. 

•  Palfest was re-launched this year with a focus on knowledge production and an emphasis on how Palestine fits within larger struggles against imperialism, racism and economic exploitation. 

•  The first-of-its kind literary festival Palestine Writes will be held in New York in March 2020. 

•  Kamila Shamsie was de-awarded the Nellie Sachs literary prize over her support of the Palestinian BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) movement. Hundreds of writers signed a statement of solidarity with her. 

•  Benjamin Netanyahu promised further annexations in the West Bank during his last electoral campaign. The details of the Trump administration’s “deal of the century” have yet to emerge. 

•  As the New York Times reported recently, Israel bans Arabic-language books from entering the country.

• Ibtisem Azem’s The Book of Disappearance was translated from the Arabic by Sinan Antoon. 

Permalink

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about two festivals (one long-established, one brand new) that celebrate Palestinian literature; an author who was penalized for supporting BDS; and a book that asks the question: What would happen if Palestinians simply disappeared? (And once again we recorded this episode in the studio of the wonderful Sowt platform in Amman).

Show Notes

• Jayne Cortez’s poem “There It Is” was performed by Sapphire at Palfest 2014. 

•  Palfest was re-launched this year with a focus on knowledge production and an emphasis on how Palestine fits within larger struggles against imperialism, racism and economic exploitation. 

•  The first-of-its kind literary festival Palestine Writes will be held in New York in March 2020. 

•  Kamila Shamsie was de-awarded the Nellie Sachs literary prize over her support of the Palestinian BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) movement. Hundreds of writers signed a statement of solidarity with her. 

•  Benjamin Netanyahu promised further annexations in the West Bank during his last electoral campaign. The details of the Trump administration’s “deal of the century” have yet to emerge. 

•  As the New York Times reported recently, Israel bans Arabic-language books from entering the country.

• Ibtisem Azem’s The Book of Disappearance was translated from the Arabic by Sinan Antoon. 

Permalink

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We talk about two festivals (one long-established, one brand new) that celebrate Palestinian literature; an author who was penalized for supporting BDS; and a book that asks the question: What would happen if Palestinians simply disappeared? (And once again we recorded this episode in the studio of the wonderful Sowt platform in Amman).

Show Notes

• Jayne Cortez’s poem “There It Is” was performed by Sapphire at Palfest 2014. 

•  Palfest was re-launched this year with a focus on knowledge production and an emphasis on how Palestine fits within larger struggles against imperialism, racism and economic exploitation. 

•  The first-of-its kind literary festival Palestine Writes will be held in New York in March 2020. 

•  Kamila Shamsie was de-awarded the Nellie Sachs literary prize over her support of the Palestinian BDS (Boycott Divestment and Sanctions) movement. Hundreds of writers signed a statement of solidarity with her. 

•  Benjamin Netanyahu promised further annexations in the West Bank during his last electoral campaign. The details of the Trump administration’s “deal of the century” have yet to emerge. 

•  As the New York Times reported recently, Israel bans Arabic-language books from entering the country.

• Ibtisem Azem’s The Book of Disappearance was translated from the Arabic by Sinan Antoon. 

Permalink

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ursula & MLQ open the new season of BULAQ -- recorded in Amman, under the auspices of the Sowt network -- with a focus on Egypt.

• This episode's reading is from Yasmine Zohdi's translation of Muhammad al-Haj's Sawiris-winning Nobody Mourns the City's Cats, available in the Summer 2019 issue of ArabLit Quarterly.

• Azzurra Meringolo Scarfoglio’s book of interviews with Egyptian exiles is Fuga dall’Egitto (“Escape from Egypt”).

• Ursula reviewed Peter Hessler’s The Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution, in the New York Review of Books.

• More than 2,000 Egyptians have been detained in a massive sweep of arrests following a new series of protests across the country; among the detainees is Egyptian novelist Muhammad Aladdin, whose charming revolution story, "Season of Migration to Arkadia," is available in Humphrey Davies' translation.

• Marcia guest-edited the last issue of Words Without Border, focused on Arabic humor. 
  
  

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ursula & MLQ open the new season of BULAQ -- recorded in Amman, under the auspices of the Sowt network -- with a focus on Egypt.

• This episode's reading is from Yasmine Zohdi's translation of Muhammad al-Haj's Sawiris-winning Nobody Mourns the City's Cats, available in the Summer 2019 issue of ArabLit Quarterly.

• Azzurra Meringolo Scarfoglio’s book of interviews with Egyptian exiles is Fuga dall’Egitto (“Escape from Egypt”).

• Ursula reviewed Peter Hessler’s The Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution, in the New York Review of Books.

• More than 2,000 Egyptians have been detained in a massive sweep of arrests following a new series of protests across the country; among the detainees is Egyptian novelist Muhammad Aladdin, whose charming revolution story, "Season of Migration to Arkadia," is available in Humphrey Davies' translation.

• Marcia guest-edited the last issue of Words Without Border, focused on Arabic humor. 
  
  

Permalink

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ursula & MLQ open the new season of BULAQ -- recorded in Amman, under the auspices of the Sowt network -- with a focus on Egypt.

• This episode's reading is from Yasmine Zohdi's translation of Muhammad al-Haj's Sawiris-winning Nobody Mourns the City's Cats, available in the Summer 2019 issue of ArabLit Quarterly.

• Azzurra Meringolo Scarfoglio’s book of interviews with Egyptian exiles is Fuga dall’Egitto (“Escape from Egypt”).

• Ursula reviewed Peter Hessler’s The Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution, in the New York Review of Books.

• More than 2,000 Egyptians have been detained in a massive sweep of arrests following a new series of protests across the country; among the detainees is Egyptian novelist Muhammad Aladdin, whose charming revolution story, "Season of Migration to Arkadia," is available in Humphrey Davies' translation.

• Marcia guest-edited the last issue of Words Without Border, focused on Arabic humor. 
  
  

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In our last episode before half our team moves and we take a summer break, we discuss a brilliant essay on the downsides of being a professional translator; the Shubbak literary festival; and our plans for the future.

Show Notes

We read from Lina Mounzer’s ”Trash Talk: On Translating Garbage,” which recently appeared on the Paris Review and struck a nerve among translators, editors, and various other word-jobbers. You can also another essay of Mounzer’s on life as a translator: “War in Translation: Giving Voice to the Women of Syria.”

The literary strand of the Shubbak Festival took place at the end of last June in London; there was some discussion online of the first panel on feminism. You can also get panelist and graphic novelist Deena Mohamed’s Shubeik Lubeik online.

During our summer hiatus, please take share Bulaq with a friend. Also, if you are so inclined, share your feedback with us on our Twitter handle @bulaqbooks: What was your favorite episode? What would you like to hear more of? Are there particular topics, essays, or books that you think would make for an interesting discussion on Bulaq? What else, if anything, would you like to tell us?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our last episode before half our team moves and we take a summer break, we discuss a brilliant essay on the downsides of being a professional translator; the Shubbak literary festival; and our plans for the future.

Show Notes

We read from Lina Mounzer’s ”Trash Talk: On Translating Garbage,” which recently appeared on the Paris Review and struck a nerve among translators, editors, and various other word-jobbers. You can also another essay of Mounzer’s on life as a translator: “War in Translation: Giving Voice to the Women of Syria.”

The literary strand of the Shubbak Festival took place at the end of last June in London; there was some discussion online of the first panel on feminism. You can also get panelist and graphic novelist Deena Mohamed’s Shubeik Lubeik online.

During our summer hiatus, please take share Bulaq with a friend. Also, if you are so inclined, share your feedback with us on our Twitter handle @bulaqbooks: What was your favorite episode? What would you like to hear more of? Are there particular topics, essays, or books that you think would make for an interesting discussion on Bulaq? What else, if anything, would you like to tell us?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our last episode before half our team moves and we take a summer break, we discuss a brilliant essay on the downsides of being a professional translator; the Shubbak literary festival; and our plans for the future.

Show Notes

We read from Lina Mounzer’s ”Trash Talk: On Translating Garbage,” which recently appeared on the Paris Review and struck a nerve among translators, editors, and various other word-jobbers. You can also another essay of Mounzer’s on life as a translator: “War in Translation: Giving Voice to the Women of Syria.”

The literary strand of the Shubbak Festival took place at the end of last June in London; there was some discussion online of the first panel on feminism. You can also get panelist and graphic novelist Deena Mohamed’s Shubeik Lubeik online.

During our summer hiatus, please take share Bulaq with a friend. Also, if you are so inclined, share your feedback with us on our Twitter handle @bulaqbooks: What was your favorite episode? What would you like to hear more of? Are there particular topics, essays, or books that you think would make for an interesting discussion on Bulaq? What else, if anything, would you like to tell us?

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have novelist Ruqaya Izziddien as our guest in this episode, to discuss her debut novel The Watermelon Boys, her blog Muslim Impossible and the need for more narratives in English that accurately represent Arab voices and history. We also talk about George Orwell’s 1939 essay “Marrakech.”

Show Notes

• Our guest this episode was Ruqaya Izzidien, author of The Watermelon Boys, which was shortlisted for this year’s Betty Trask Prize. Ruqaya will also be appearing June 30 at the Shubbak Festival in London, on a panel with Inaam Kachachi and Rabai al-Madhoun, and possibly Hammour Ziada.

• Hanna Diyab is acknowledged -- in Antoine Galland's diary and is Diyab's own writings -- as the author of the "Aladdin" story commonly bundled in with the 1001 Nights. A French translation of Diyab’s travel narrative, D’Alep à Paris: Les pérégrinations d’un jeune syrien au temps de Louis XIV, appeared in 2015, edited and translated by Paule Fahmé-Thiéry, Bernard Heyberger, and Jérôme Lentin. An English translation, by Elias Muhanna and Johannes Stephan, is tentatively scheduled for Fall 2020.

• Dr. Debbie Reese and Dr. Jean Mendoza are the forces behind the invaluable American Indians in Children's Literature.

• You can read a transcript of the film Reel Bad Arabs, based on the classic book by Jack Shaheen.

• The Dzanc Books statement about Hesh Kestin's The Siege of Tel Aviv is available on the publisher's website.

• Izzidien is also the editor behind Muslim Impossible, a new website that “reviews fictional Muslim and Arab characters in film, TV and literature that are unbelievable, poorly-researched or prejudiced.”

• We disagreed about whether George Orwell’s “Marrakech” essay falls in that category. Here is a video and translation of part of the essay into Darija by a Moroccan YouTuber.

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