When the book went out for review, a number of reviewers got in contact with me saying what can we do after we read a book like this? So I asked Bushra: “What do you want readers to do?”
“With time, I came to the conclusion that bread-baking as a creative act resembles the art of writing in many ways that might not be obvious to the untrained eye. And that the similarities become clearer with practice, and by persevering with the act of creation and creativity.”
“Is there a way to contact heaven?
I wage wars against myself
And I always lose”
“We hope that the magazine will add some vibrancy to the contemporary Arabic literary scene and that it will encourage bolder creative writing to emerge. We also hope that the magazine will create a space for literary discussion and that it will be a new platform that introduces us to young Arab writers who deserve attention and to be read, and to empower them through Granta’s multilingual world to cross into other languages and cultures.”
ALQ’s Fall 2022 issue with a focus on WEDDINGS is open for submissions until August 7.
“I remember another waterfall—how we left the dirt road and walked down towards the shore. Clear water flowing over the pebbles deepened in the middle of the river, so that leaving the shore became an adventure, and made the small island packed with trees appear distant, despite how close it actually was.”
“He stares at the reflection of the furniture in the mirror but everything is perfectly still. When he speaks to his own reflection, he hears a muffled hiss like the one made by the hands of a clock.”
“Our concerns lie elsewhere, whether it’s turning the deserts green or maintaining family values, or honoring religion. As Arabs especially, we love gardens and vines and family get-togethers in our mini-utopias. As Muslims, we have a much more holistic vision of the future, of what the future should look like.”
“But I didn’t decide to avoid setting The White Line of Night in Kuwait so that I could write freely and refer to anyone or anything without getting into trouble. Censorship is not exclusive to Kuwait; it is a global issue and it still exists in reality and practice even in the countries that theoretically nullified it.”
