Books that Open Worlds: A Palestinian Reader’s Journey
“Ultimately, the arrival of Asad’s Secret in English is as much an act of preservation as it is an act of translation.”
Country Focus
From Kawther Al-Jahmi’s ‘A Son of the Country’
The novel poses a question about identity: Is it a piece of paper, or a sense of belonging?
‘He Dies for As Long As Possible’
This short piece appeared, in a slightly different form, in the SONG issue of ArabLit Quarterly in the Spring of 2021.
‘The Desert Also Keened’
Ibrahim al-Koni’s “The Desert Also Keened” was the winner of the 2023 ArabLit Story Prize in Dima El Mouallem’s translation.
Kawthar Al-Jahmi’s Journey: From ‘Bint Tripoli’ to Award-winning Novelist
Today, Kawthar al-Jahmi talks about her writing and reading journeys, the role of literary prizes, submitting her novel to the publisher a day before giving birth, and developing a writing practice while working and raising children.
From Najwa Bin Shatwan’s ‘Tree of Soap’
Libyan writer Najwa Binshatwan’s latest novel, شجرة الصابون (Tree of Soap, Dar Arab 2026) unfolds with her signature sarcastic-surrealism. In this world, the State encourages citizens to express themselves, ensures their participation, and provides them everything necessary to practice democracy. Nothing is forced, exactly; it’s just that absence is unwelcome and silence requires explanation.
‘My Father Chased the Free Bird’
“It is the free bird.”
From ‘The Country Doctor’s Tale’
At this point in ‘The Country Doctor’s Tale,’ the titular country doctor is returning from a house call when he suddenly discovers political posters everywhere, even on the walls of the clinic.
New Poetry in Translation: ‘Obituaries’
“The city wakes up in obituaries.”