Global events calendar — of Arabic and Arab literary events — for March, 2014. Please add events below.
March 1
Dar al-Ma’mûn Conversations (Marrakesh, Morocco)
The final day of the conversations, which began on Feb. 27. “Where is War Now?” More here.
March 1-7
Twenty-five Readings to Remember al-Mutanabbi Street (Cities around the World)
Beau Beausoleil — founder of the “Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here” project — has brought together 25 readings in Scotland, the US, Canada, Egypt, and England to mark the seventh anniversary of the bombing of Baghdad’s central bookselling street. More here.
March 1-8
The Muscat International Book Fair (Muscat, Oman)
The fair opened Feb. 26 and continues through the 8th. The official website has some ribbon-cutting photos, among other things; officially, there is no ban on books at this year’s fair. (Meanwhile, the Riyadh Book Fair has already announced that they’re banning an Omani book.)
March 2
Freedom Theatre UK Tour Launch (London, England)
“The Freedom Theatre will tour Britain for the first time, launching with a screening of Arna’s Children as well as a Q&A about The Freedom Theatre and Juliano Mer Khamis’s work.” More here.
March 2
“Oum Cartoon: Satire at a Tense Time (Cairo, Egypt)
A talk with Oum Cartoon’s Jonathan Guyer. More here.
March 4-8
Events of Emirates LitFest (Dubai, UAE)
The sixth annual Emirates LitFest will host more than a hundred writers from more than twenty countries. More here.
March 4-14
The Riyadh International Book Fair (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
The Riyadh Fair is often a site of controversy, but also of brisk sales.
March 8-9
Performances of “Rituals of Signs and Transformations,” by Saadallah Wannous (Chicago, USA)
Silk Road Rising to present three staged readings of Rituals of Signs and Transformations, written by Saadallah Wannous, translated from Arabic into English by Nada Saab and Robert Myers, and directed by Sahar Assaf, on March 8 and 9, 2014. More here.
March 10
The al-Hamlet Summit, by Sulayman Al-Bassam (NYC, NY, USA)
“A startling piece of new writing that borrows from Shakespeare’s plot to create a poetic and powerful critique of contemporary political scenarios, set in the cauldron of Middle East discontent. The familiar characters of Shakespeare’s play are delegates in a conference room in an unnamed modern Arab state on the brink of war. Having gained control of a modern Arab state, a ruthless dictator attempts a westernized experiment, in thrall to arms dealers and propped up by US dollars. Yet a catastrophic war is brewing, he is besieged by enemy neighbors from without, and a growing politicized Islam from within, and his predecessor’s son Hamlet is plotting revenge…” More here.
March 11
Book Wings Iraq (Iowa, USA; Baghdad, Iraq; Many points in between)
On March 11 — at 9 a.m. in Iowa and 5 p.m. in Baghdad — six new works will be performed and livestreamed as part of “Book Wings Iraq.” More here.
March 16
Proposals Due for MLA 2015 Panels that Deal With Arab/Arabic Literature (Global)
More on the proposed panels here.
March 16
Poetry Against the Oblivion (Eleven cities across Italy)
On March 13 — the day in 1941 on which Mahmoud Darwish was born — organizations in eleven Italian cities will stage readings “against the oblivion.” More here.
March 21
Ammiel Alcalay at the 2014 Boston University Lecture Series in Literary Translation (Boston, US)
Most Friday afternoons from 1-3 p.m., Boston University will be hosting a series on literary translation with luminaries like Alcalay, Fady Joudah, Sinan Antoon, and Susan Bernofsky (April 4). More on the events.
The Aesthetics and Politics of Contemporary Literary Production in Morocco (London, England)
Includes a keynote speech sponsored by the International Prize for Arabic Fiction by novelist Mohammed Achaari. More here.
March 27-29
Arts of Revolution (Durham, NC, USA)
Includes discussion by Mohammed Albakry on “Theatre Inside the Church.” More here.
March 27-30
Split This Rock Poetry Festival (Washington DC, USA)
Dunya Mikhail will participate, along with other poets reading “poems of provocation and witness.” More here.
March 28
Annual Edward Said Lecture by Raja Shehadeh: Is There a Language of Peace? (London, England)
“That is the question Raja Shehadeh asks in this year’s lecture in memory of Edward Said. He will reflect on the categories and modes of representation-legal and cultural-that confine today’s Palestinians and the steps that need to be taken to move from the language of suffering and oppression to a new one of liberation and peace.” More here.
