Friday Finds: 6 in Translation by Mahmoud Shukair

Mahmoud Shukair is an award winning Palestinian writer born in Jabal al-Mukabbar, Jerusalem, in 1941, and he appears this year at the “Palestine Writes” festival going on now through December 6:

Shukair’s first panel event, “Literature in the Time of Erasure,” was held December 2 with novelist Ibrahim Nasrallah and poet Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, and he also appears today, December 4, at 11 a.m. Eastern time (US) for a “Coffee & Books” session with Nur Masalha, in which they discuss Shukair’s International Prize for Arabic Fiction-shortlisted novel Praise for the Women of the Family.

Those who haven’t yet registered for the festival still can at palestinewrites.vfairs.com.

Shukair has authored both short stories and novels for adults and teens. He is the author of more than forty books, six television series, and four plays. His stories have been translated into several languages, including English, French, German, Chinese, Mongolian, and Czech, and he has held leadership positions within the Jordanian Writers’ Union and the Union of Palestinian Writers and Journalists. In 2011, he won the Mahmoud Darwish Prize for Freedom of Expression.

In translation, online:

“Mordechai’s Mustache and His Wife’s Cats,” tr. Issa Boullata.

Also “Mordechai’s Mustache and His Wife’s Cats,” tr. Michael K. Scott

“Ronaldo’s Seat,” tr. Issa Boullata

“Windows of Jerusalem,” tr. Issa Boullata

“Shakira’s Picture,” tr. Issa Boullata

“The Girl” and “Fear” from Jerusalem Stands Alone, tr. Nicole Fares

Excerpt from Praise for the Women of the Family, tr. Jonathan Wright (PDF)

You can buy Shukair in translation:

At the #PalestineWrites festival bookshop