12 Short-short Stories for the Shortest Day of the Year

Since it’s the shortest day of the year, I tried to find some short-short stories for your reading pleasure. In some cases — such as Zakariya Tamer — they are indeed shortly short. But I have tried to keep all of them to the short side. Limiting to one short story per country was difficult, and perhaps silly.

ALGERIA

“Bloodred Dew,” Mohammed Dib, trans. C. Dickson

EGYPT

“The Battle of the Rabbits,” Muhammed Mustajab, trans. Qisasukhra

IRAQ

“The Logic of Birds,” Luay Hamza Abbas, trans Yasmeen Hanoosh

IRAQ/ISRAEL

“Tantal,” Samir Naqqash, trans. Shakir Mustafa

LEBANON

“God, It’s as Though You’re Sewing a Dress For a Flea,” Hanan al-Shaykh, trans. Randa Jarrar

LIBYA

“The Teacher,” Ibrahim al-Koni, trans. Elliott Colla

MOROCCO

“Men Have All the Luck,” Mohamed Choukri, trans. Paul Starkey

PALESTINE

“Silence,” Adania Shibli, trans. Randa Jarrar

SAUDI ARABIA

“Oil Field,” Mohammad Hasan Alwan, trans. Peter Clark

SUDAN

“In the Long Shadows,” Jamal Mahjoub

SYRIA

“Silent Ones,” Zakaria Tamer, trans. Ibrahim Muhawi

TUNISIA

“The Way to Poppy Street,” Rachida el-Charni, trans. Piers Amodia