In Honor of Tawakul Karman: Yemeni Literature
Last summer, newly minted Nobel Peace laureate Tawakul Karman told the Yemen Times that encouraging freedom of expression was “the first and far most important way to achieve change in a […]
October 2011
Have Egyptians Stopped Reading Poetry?
Will Egyptians rush out to get translations (in Arabic or English) of Tomas Tranströmer’s collected works? Well, some surely will. We are a country of tens of millions. But Ola […]
Reading al-Qa’id’s ‘War in the Land of Egypt’ on October 6
From Al Masry Al Youm: Yusuf al-Qa’id’s acclaimed novel, War in the Land of Egypt, was set during the brief October 1973 war and published in Lebanon in 1978, just […]
What It’s Like to Work for Adonis
It’s Nobel Day, which means that, around the world, curiosity-seekers such as myself will be glued to their computers at 1 p.m. CET. With “Arab Spring” chatter in the air, […]
Pierre Joris: Seven Minutes on Translation
Pierre Joris is a poet, translator, and author of the blog Nomadics, which is where I first encountered him. He teaches poetry & poetics at SUNY-Albany. He has recently published Paul Celan: […]
Kickstarter Campaign to Support ‘Muktatafaht,’ an M.E. Comics Anthology
A day later, I got a note from Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies’ Anna Mudd about the Kickstarter campaign for Muktatafaht (a Middle East Comics Anthology).
Excerpts from Banipal 42: New Writing from the Emirates
Banipal 41 (Celebrating Adonis) has disappeared into the background on the magazine’s website just as speculation about the Parisian-Syrian poet has reached its highest froth in years: Could this really […]
Farewell to Palestinian Poet Taha Muhammad Ali
I read on Qadita this morning that the Palestinian autodidact and poet Taha Muhammad Ali has died. He will be buried later today. Ali was born in the Palestinian village […]
Nobel Speculation (and Betting) Continues
Ladbrokes is just one handicapper for the big Swedish prize, which is set to be announced some Thursday this month. The Unibet* is another.