Friday Finds: 21 Short Stories for 2019’s Longest Day
Twenty-one translated stories from twelve countries — available free online — for your midsummer, 2019:
ALGERIA
“The Mauve Planet,” Safia Ketou, trans. Nadia Ghanem
“Bloodred Dew,” Mohammed Dib, trans. C. Dickson
EGYPT
“The Battle of the Rabbits,” Muhammed Mustajab, trans. Robin Moger
“Our Story,” Mohamed Abdelnabi, tr. Robin Moger
IRAQ
“Tantal,” Samir Naqqash, trans. Shakir Mustafa
“Lizards’ Colony,” by Mahmoud Saeed, trans. William Hutchins
“Yusif’s Tales,” by Muhammad Khudayyir, trans. Shakir Mustafa
“The Hush Void” by Muhammad Khudayyir, trans. Elisabeth Jaquette
LEBANON
“Pearls on a Branch,” from the collection of folktales Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
“God, It’s as Though You’re Sewing a Dress For a Flea,” Hanan al-Shaykh, trans. Randa Jarrar
JORDAN
“Disappointments (and a Few Clarifications),” by Basma al-Nsour, trans Andrew Leber
LIBYA
“The World’s Longest-held Prisoner,” Omar El-Kiddi, trans. Ghenwa Hayek
MOROCCO
“Men Have All the Luck,” Mohamed Choukri, trans. Paul Starkey
“Just Different,” Malika Moustadraf, trans Alice Guthrie
PALESTINE
“Silence,” Adania Shibli, trans. Randa Jarrar
“Man and His Alarm Clock“ Samira Azzam, translated by Nora Parr, Michael Beard, and Wen-Chin Ouyang. (As a companion, Shibli’s “Out of Time.”)
SUDAN
“Birth,” Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin, trans. Nancy Roberts
SYRIA
“Silent Ones,” Zakaria Tamer, trans. Ibrahim Muhawi
“The Gist of It,” Rasha Abbas, trans. Alice Guthrie
TUNISIA
“The Way to Poppy Street,” Rachida el-Charni, trans. Piers Amodia
YEMEN
“Fatal Dreams” by Wajdi Al-Ahdal, trans. William Maynard Hutchins