New Podcast from Bulaq: ‘The Elephant Is The Room’

We recorded this episode in Cairo with author, translator, and Mada Masr culture editor Yasmine Zohdi. We talked about making art in difficult and precarious times; how to acknowledge the political context; censorship and self-censorship.

From the show notes:

“What we talk about when we talk about trees,” by Yasmine Zohdi, ran in Mada Masr in December of last year.

 We also spoke about the shrinking of cultural spaces in Cairo.

Zohdi also translates, including her husband Muhammad al-Hajj’s beautiful Nobody Mourns the City’s Cats.

MLQ was in Cairo for the ARCE symposium on popular culture. Essays from and inspired by the symposium will be appearing at The Maydan.

An excerpt of the Egyptian novel Prizes for Heroes was translated as part of Mada Masr’s translation series.

The Egyptian film Yomeddine (“Judgment Day”) was part of the official selection at the Cannes Film Festival.

You can also read more about the ARCE symposium at Al Fanar: “Scholars Consider What Popular Culture Means in Egypt Today.”