This is the story of Zafaran, a young man trying to escape the labels slapped on Sabeans, who leaves Baghdad hoping to find freedom in a small village. Yet, as soon as he arrives, he is recognized as the “Sabean,” and his life takes a new turn, such that he not only faces the myths about Sabeans but the village’s inner darkness.
The great Egyptian writer Sonallah Ibrahim passed away earlier this month. BULAQ discussed his novel Warda – the story of a female fighter in the 1960s and 70s Dhofar rebellion in Oman, and of the Egyptian intellectual who, decades later, tries to solve the mystery of what happened to her.
The Arabic original of this short story appears in the 2017 edition of Azher Jirjees’s collection The Sweetmaker.
In this essay by Husam Maarouf, he writes: “Isn’t it strange for someone to laugh in Gaza? Here, laughter is not because destruction is amusing or enjoyable—it is a moment of nakedness before the self, a full exposure. One has no choice but to laugh.”
This excerpt from Badar Salem’s “Lonely as a Crowded Room” was translated by the author.
In this poem, Dalia Taha writes that she “picked up ‘The Butterfly’s Burden’ / and could not put it down.”
A Helmet of Brass By Haitham K. Al-Zubbaidi Translated by Ali Layth Azeez Nothing in me betrays the clouds’ expectations except that I am so deep in aridity. Nothing in […]
This story originally appeared in Maroun Abboud’s أقزام جبابرة. Abboud (1886-1962) was a Lebanese poet and writer who lived and worked among the Druze and wrote about village life in Mount Lebanon. Abboud studied various languages, initially pursued priesthood, and later worked as a newspaper editor while writing poetry.
![Left to right) Khālidah Sa‘īd, Nāzik al-Malā’ikah, Fadwa Ṭūqān, and Salma Jayyusi.[1] [1] Image from Shi‘r 4, no. 1 (1960). Credit Princeton University Libraries.](https://arablit.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Left-to-right-Khalidah-Sa‘id-Nazik-al-Malaikah-Fadwa-Ṭuqan-and-Salma-Jayyusi.1-1-Image-from-Shi‘r-4-no.-1-1960.-Credit-Princeton-University-Libraries.jpg "Left to right) Khālidah Sa‘īd, Nāzik al-Malā’ikah, Fadwa Ṭūqān, and Salma Jayyusi.[1] [1] Image from Shi‘r 4, no. 1 (1960). Credit Princeton University Libraries.")
“The poem itself exemplifies a spirit—uncommon neither for the time nor for the magazine’s cohort—that struggled to break free from past delusions and memories, despite their seductive pull.”
