Cover Talk: Ahmed Alrefaie, Artist Behind FOLK Issue Cover Art
The cover art of our Winter 2021 FOLK-themed issue, guest-edited by Ali Al-Jamri, is by Kuwaiti illustrator and graphic designer Ahmed Alrefaie.
From ArabLit Quarterly
Short Fiction: Belal Fadl’s ‘As Per Job Description’
Belal Fadl’s sharply funny “As Per Job Description,” in Mahmoud Younes’s translation, was shortlisted for the 2020 ArabLit Story Prize and appeared in the Winter 2020 DREAMS issue of ArabLit Quarterly.
New Fiction: Ameer Hamad’s ‘Captain Majid’
This story, by Palestinian author Ameer Hamad, first ran in our Fall 2021 FOOTBALL issue.
Fiction from Sudan: Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin’s ‘A Veteran Warrior’
“Will they shoot again?” the little girl asks her mother.
Award-winning Short Fiction: Raja Alem’s ‘The Boa’
” I spat out all the womb’s waters that were stagnant within my chest, and then waited for their despair.”
Luqman Derky: ‘Knocking on Freedom’s Door’
“Do the players belong to the police force or the thieves?” one of our failed players asked. “The thieves, you moron,” our always-angry coach said.
From ALQ: Football Chants and a Football-issue Playlist
“This chant reflects the intersections of football, politics, socioeconomics, migration, and the feelings of hogra. For those who want to escape the ills of the homeland, the wooden boat is often a symbol of their freedom.”
On Poets and Stadiums: Announcing the Fall 2021 FOOTBALL-themed Issue of ArabLit Quarterly
“When Naguib Mahfouz was a boy, he tells us, two paths lay before him. There was the path of the literature he loved to read and write. He could take that path and become a distinguished author. There was also the path of the football he loved to play and the footballers he admired. He could take that, it was said, and become a member of the Egyptian Olympic football team.”
From ArabLit Quarterly: Naguib Mahfouz’s ‘The Man in the Picture’
“Sheikhun Muharram disappeared.”