Call for Submissions to Spring 2024 Issue: ‘Gaza! Gaza! Gaza!’
The theme of ArabLit Quarterly’s Spring 2024 issue is Gaza! Gaza! Gaza! Please send us your pitch or completed piece via this Google form or send an email to info@arablit.org. We […]
From ArabLit Quarterly
‘Matters of National Football’
In honor of today’s match, we’re running this essay from our beloved FOOTBALL issue, by Moroccan author Yassin Adnan, translated by Moroccan translator Hicham Rafik, with photographs by Moroccan photographer Omar Mesrar.
Summer Reads: ‘The Government Sea’
“When the central government announced a plan to rebuild what the war had devastated, the municipality put forth a request to establish a sea. Unlike other requests, which usually lingered in a state of neglect, tucked away in drawers, the central government responded right away, as they didn’t have any drawers in their offices in which to hide such paperwork.”
Summer Reads: ‘Solace for the Traveler and Entertainment for the Conversationalist’
“Such compilations were common. At a time when people could not entertain themselves with TV and thumb-wrecking scrolling on myriad social media platforms, compilations kept them company. These works tended to be written in small notebooks easy to carry in one’s pocket or satchel.”
Summer Reads: ‘The Limping Couch’
“It wasn’t just the Obesity Control Police. Everyone in town constantly challenged my humanity because of my weight. They called me an animal so many times that, for a moment, I thought I’d become one.”
Summer Reads: ‘How Moroccans Laugh’
“Through it all, Moroccans have maintained their ability to laugh at everything. Do we not have a well-known proverb that says, ‘Too much worrying makes you laugh?'”
Summer Reads: Sonallah Ibrahim’s ‘Arsène Lupin’
“My father got dressed, brushed off his tarbush with the sleeve of his jacket, and placed it at an appropriate tilt on his head. Then he twisted the ends of his white mustache all the way up to his nostrils. We left the apartment, locking the door behind us, and went down to the street. I noticed we were heading toward the tram stop.”
Summer Reads: ‘Rice Pudding for Two’
“Take a pinch of cinnamon with one hand and a pinch of vanilla with the other; delicately sprinkle both into the mixture. Now rub your hands together and bring your attention to your neck, patting your palms against it. This detail is essential for a good rice pudding.”
Summer Reads: Muhammad Zafzaf’s ‘Borges in the Hereafter’
“But, Mr. President,” Borges cut in, “we’re already dead.”