A Cairo driver comments on Alef's 'knowledge taxi' project: Gulf News has a brief report on the Alef bookstore chain's "knowledge taxi" project: "Cairo taxi libraries a boon for clients in traffic jams." I understand there have been glitches: people making off with the books, and, of course, it must be a bummer to start … Continue reading Friday Links: A Driver on Alef’s ‘Knowledge Taxis’; Writers Say No to Normalization with Israel; Reviews & More
Saturday Links: IPAF Longlister Waciny Laredj at Bibliotheca, YA Wins Award at Beirut Fair, More
Yes, yes, they're supposed to be Friday links. But so it goes.
Friday Links: Your Dose of Orientalism, Publishing Controversies, Graphic Novels, More
In the interest of "balance," today we'll be providing some good old-fashioned views of Arabs (in English) over here at ArabLit! First, the Guardian books blog has a post about reading and knowing Tangiers via European writers (and the disappointments of not finding any bloodthirsty tribals, a la Sheltering Sky, on one's trip to Morocco). … Continue reading Friday Links: Your Dose of Orientalism, Publishing Controversies, Graphic Novels, More
Eid Links: Free Rafik Schami Download, Follow Colla through Palestine, Events, More
To celebrate (and promote, one would think) their new Rafik Schami release, The Calligrapher's Secret, Interlink has sent out downloads of Schami's essay on Arabic calligraphy, "What I Create Will Outlast Time: The Story of the Beauty of Arabic Script." The essay---like Schami's other works---is translated by the very-award-winning Anthea Bell.
Friday Links: Facebook as the New Literature, Reviews, and Taha Hussein Defended
This may be the week of the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, but the most delightful thing I read this week was Youssef Rakha's "Virtually there," in Al Ahram Weekly. (We'll just blame an editor for the meaningless headline.)
Friday Links: Events, Literacy Trends, and How Many Books *Are* Translated into Arabic?
Lately, I find the adage "Egypt writes, Lebanon publishes, Iraq reads" gives me a stab in the heart.
Friday Links: Saudi Poetess Defies Men and Law, Nobel Relief, Jobs & Opportunities
We've got good news, and we've got bad news. (Thankfully, most of it has nothing to do with the Nobel Prize for Literature, awarded to the worthy although non-Arab Mario Vargas Llosa.)
Friday Links: International Translation Day Wrap-up, New October Issues, More
This week's major holiday---in your life, I'm sure, as in mine---was International Translation Day! PierenePress did a heroic job of twittercasting live from PEN's translation-day events; I certainly hope they write a few wrap-up thoughts about the discussions on their blog. Meanwhile, the "top 10" suggestions to come out of a discussion of how to … Continue reading Friday Links: International Translation Day Wrap-up, New October Issues, More
