“History does not say who we are by itself—we make it say that. Historical events are the clay that we shape according what we need, think, and believe.”
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Abu Dhabi Book Fair
IPAF Winner Shukri al-Mabkhout: ‘This Is a Novel of Defiance’
“The complexity of recent Tunisian history, and a minute sociological analysis can only be expressed in a novel. Only narration can make sense of the events.”
Sonallah Ibrahim: ‘The Only Role of the Writer is to Entertain’
Tolerance is “the main responsibility of a society towards its population, including the artists and other creators.” There should be “no confiscation, no prison or torture.”
Shukri al-Mabkhout’s ‘The Italian’ Now Available for Sale in UAE
The ban, which lasted about a week, was lifted this morning, with the Emirates-based Gulf News asserting that there had been no ban.
Mohammed Berrada: ‘Everything Has Yet To Be Done’
This dispatch is the first from the 2015 Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, which opens today.
Mourid Barghouti: ‘It Is Not a Prize Designed to Give Incentives to Young Writers’
“However biting, problematic or even nightmarish its world may be, the novel must give the reader pleasure.”
German Author Detained in Abu Dhabi After Book Fair, Released
After two weeks detained in Abu Dhabi following this year’s Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, German author Jörg Albrecht has been granted passage home. According to his publisher, he arrived in Berlin this morning.
The Whys and Wherefores of Translating Science Fiction into Arabic
At this year’s Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, YA author and would-be/will-be publisher Noura al-Noman drove in from Sharjah to talk about translating literature for young people. She spoke about the particular importance of translating science fiction into Arabic.
Jamila Hassoune: Connecting Readers and Books, from Marrakesh to the High Atlas
Book activist Jamila Hassoune was at this year’s Abu Dhabi International Book Fair at an event with Italian writer and blogger Chiara Comito: By Chiara Comito “If there have been the Arab springs in the Arab world it’s because there… Read More ›
Is Clarity No Longer a Crime?
“Clarity is a crime,” Mahmoud Darwish once wrote, in his “Leaving the Mediterranean Coast.” This line of poetry was quoted by Egyptian novelist Ezzedine Choukri Fishere when he declined to explain aspects of his International Prize for Arabic Fiction-shortlisted novel Embrace at the Brooklyn Bridge in 2011.
Philip Kennedy: These Books Shouldn’t Just Hide on a Shelf
Philip F. Kennedy, the Library of Arabic Literature’s General Editor, has been a key force in putting systems in place and getting the LAL — which focuses on Arabic-English editions of classical and pre-modern Arabic literature — on its feet. He spoke with ArabLit at the 2013 Abu Dhabi International Book Fair about how the project came about, noting a few the challenges the editors and editor-translators have faced.
Book Fairs and the Locals
Now that I’ve returned from the fair, I’ve been reflecting on how difficult it is to say what “localization” and “roots” mean in a country that’s 90-percent non-Emirati. This 90 percent — of Pakistanis, Egyptians, French, Malaysians, Indians, Filipinos, Lebanese, others — may contribute vibrantly to the country’s development. Yet they cannot, as things currently stand, be considered locals.
