Listen to Libyan-American Poet Khaled Mattawa’s ‘After 42 Years’
The poem was originally broadcast on BBC Radio. “But that’s all over now. Or can you say over when it took 42 years?”
October 2011
Remembering Iraqi Poet Sargon Boulus
Poet, novelist, and translator Sinan Antoon had a tribute to Iraqi poet Sargon Boulus on Jadaliyya yesterday, the fourth anniversary of Boulus’s death. Antoon (see comment below) is currently at […]
11 Books to Pre-order this Fall: New Arabic Writing (in Translation)
There are an unusual number of new translations of Arabic fiction, poetry, and memoir forthcoming this fall. Eleven I think are particularly worth ordering or pre-ordering: I Was Born There, I […]
Nawal al-Saadawi at 80: Working on a New Novel that Reflects Tahrir’s ‘Dream’
Earlier this week, Egyptian author and activist Dr. Nawal al-Saadawi told BBC4 that she is at work on a new novel. When asked if the new novel would reflect events […]
One Minute with Olivia Snaije on Translating ‘Bye Bye Babylon’
Olivia Snaije (@oliviasnaije) is a freelance journalist who recently moved back to Paris from London where she worked as executive editor of Alef magazine and then as a commissioning editor […]
Translator as Censor
Ola al-Saket has interviewed Albawtaka editor Hala Salah Eldin as part of Al Masry Al Youm’s ongoing series on translation, “In Other Words.” One thing that caught my attention was the paragraph on (self)-censorship: […]
Sharjah ‘Translation Rights Centre’ Launches with $300,000 Translation Fund
Last week, Ahmed Al Amri, the director of the Sharjah International Book Fair, announced the opening of a $300,000 translation fund to celebrate the fair’s 30th anniversary.
Graphic Novels Looking East, Looking West
I received two graphic novels in the mail of late. One, Bye Bye Babylon, is a pop-art-infused look at Beirut’s civil war by Lebanese author-artist Lamia Ziade. The other, Habibi, is an […]
The Incipient Revolution in Ahmed Mourad’s ‘Vertigo’
NOTE: Vertigo has been named “best revolution read” of 2011. # I was reading the Robin Moger translation of Ahmed Mourad’s Vertigo last night, and was struck by the generational […]