‘The Last Syrian’: A Novel That ‘Reveals That the Sexual Is At the Heart Of, and Inseparable From, the Political’
“For him, Damascus is like a mirror, a sun between two clouds; there he feels eternal. Every time he visits, he feels like he has found a part of his soul.”Continue Reading
Coming in February: Eleventh-century Medical Satire and Fiction From Eritrea
This month: Ibn Butlan’s ‘The Doctors’ Dinner Party’ and Haji Jabir’s ‘Black Foam’Continue Reading
An Excerpt from Hussein Barghouthi’s ‘The Blue Light’: Introduction to the Psychology of Fog
“It is said that blue is an antidote to sexual excitation—and I was a raging bull then. It is also said that blue calms the nerves—and I was on the edge of madness, bad temper was my inheritance, my father was known for it.”Continue Reading
New ‘PEN Translates’ Grants to Lebanese Comix, Sudanese Memoir, More
Books are selected for the awards on the basis of “outstanding literary quality, the strength of the publishing project, and their contribution to UK bibliodiversity.”Continue Reading
Syrian Poet Shawqy Baghdadi Dies at 94
Syrian poet and short-story writer Shawqy Baghdadi (1928-2023) died Sunday evening at the age of 94, according to multiple news reports.Continue Reading
Introducing Fikra Magazine, ‘A Project by Palestinians and for Palestinians’
“Although we are a literary magazine, we are open to all art forms, especially those that experiment with and criticize the status quo.”Continue Reading
Sunday Submissions: Rowayat’s ‘Faith’ Issue & Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference
Egyptian magazine Rowayat has opened submissions for its sixth issue, ‘Faith’, and applications for Middlebury’s Bread Loaf Writers’ Conference are also now open. Continue Reading
International Prize for Arabic Fiction Announces 2023 Longlist, Showcasing ‘An Impulse to Record Historic Events’
Seven writers on the list have been recognized by the prize in past editions: Ahmad Abdulatif, Najwa Binshatwan, Lina Huyan Alhassan, Aisha Ibrahim, Nasser Iraq, Azher Jirjis, and Miral al-Tahawy. Organizers also remarked on the number of women authors longlisted for this year’s prize — eight — the most women novelists ever to appear on an IPAF longlist.Continue Reading
Short Fiction: Maqbul al-Alawi’s ‘Phantom of the Sands’
It’s a fact—and I grow more certain of this as time goes by—that no matter how many folks we encounter as time goes by, some of their faces strike a chord deep within us. They somehow burrow into our souls, forever marking the course of our lives.Continue Reading
