‘Memory of a Promise’ Anthology Reportedly Cancelled After Boycott
According to Gulf News, the University of Texas anthology Memory of a Promise: Short Stories by Middle Eastern Women has been cancelled after some authors’ objections to the inclusion of stories by Israeli authors.
The project was conceived to honor scholar Elizabeth Fernea; project editor Annes McCann-Baker apparently started to blog about the anthology process, but then didn’t continue.
As you may recall, Reza Aslan’s Tablet & Pen “Middle Eastern” anthology, released in 2010, was criticized because it did not include Hebrew-writing authors.
The BDS movement site gives the argument in favor of a cultural boycott. There is also a Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott website. I couldn’t find a compelling anti-BDS website, but Wikipedia has gathered a number of links.
May 27, 2012 @ 11:33 am
No comments on this? Interesting…
May 28, 2012 @ 9:29 am
It’s also worth mentioning in this context the fierce debates over the Joumana Haddad/Comma Press anthology Madinah, which included a story from the radical left-wing Israeli writer Yitzhak Laor, but came in for fierce criticism, most notably in Al-Akhbar. There’s a good round-up of the debate here: http://arabpoliticsofculture.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/again-boycott-and-its-many-questions.html
May 28, 2012 @ 9:38 am
Ah, thanks, Sarah!