Removing the promotion of new issues of ArabLit Quarterly magazine, the top ten most-read pieces of 2022:
1) 30 Reads: A Month of Iraqi Women Writers
Inspired by our Algeria & Morocco Editor Nadia Ghanem, who pioneered the “30 Reads” series with a list of recommended books by Algerian women writers, Hend Saeed and M Lynx Qualey put together a look at 30 literary works by 30 different Iraqi women writers, in Arabic and Kurdish.
2) A Poem for Land Day: Mahmoud Darwish’s ‘The Second Olive Tree’
In translation by Marilyn Hacker.
3) Winner of 2022 ArabLit Story Prize ‘Captures the Essence of What a Short Story Should Be’
An announcement of the winner of the ArabLit Story Prize for 2022, which went to Belal Fadi and James Scanlan, for Scanlan’s translation of Fadl’s “The Kid Sheikh” (!الشيخ العَيِّل).
4) Poetry in Translation: Fadi Azzam’s ‘This Is Damascus, You Sons of Bitches’
Two poems by Syrian writer Fadi Azzam made our “top ten of 2022.” Both in translation by Ghada Alatrash.
5) Najwan Darwish and the Politics/Poetics of Translating Exhaustion
Thanks to Khaled Rajeh for this beautiful and thoughtful review-essay.
6) Focus IRAQ: Canonical Works & New Voices
Hend Saeed and Wiam El-Tamami asked a number of Iraqi writers, translators, and scholars to put together a list of their highlights from Iraqi literature.
7) Yasmina Jraissati on How She Got Her Start as a Literary Agent
An excellent, wide-ranging conversation with the influential literary agent Yasmina Jraissati.
8) Writers Select: New & Inventive Algerian Voices
Curated by Leonie Rau and Nadia Ghanem.
9) Let Us Spell Out Life: Prison Writing by Ahmed Douma
Reflections — which lead into the translations of two poems — by Elliott Colla.
10) New Poetry in Translation: Fadi Azzam’s ‘If You Are Syrian These Days …’
The second poem by Fadi Azzam among our most-read works of 2022; also translated by Ghada Alatrash.
