"No, sleep is not a rehearsal for death!"
From the Archives: How Mahmoud Darwish Inspired a Poetry Movement in Assam, India
"The off-LBF podcast below explores the Miyah poetry movement that was sparked in April 2016 when poet Hafiz Ahmed composed 'Write Down I Am a Miyah,' inspired in part by Mahmoud Darwish’s 'ID Card,' and shared it on social media."
On Translating the Linguistic Diversity of ‘Hot Maroc’
"It is the research and the work that the reader may not see in the final translation that will determine the quality of that translation."
A Revolution against Realism: A Talk with Yasmine Ramadan
" As I argue throughout the book, the formulation of the sixties generation is not neutral but rather is a strategy that helps writers gain access to positions of power and prominence in the field of cultural production."
Rula J. Abisaab on Writing a Novel of Faith, Skepticism, and Violence Through a Camera’s Lens
"I treat my novels and poetry as forms of art, in which I explore all that I do not want to articulate in academic arguments and proofs."
‘A Bed for the King’s Daughter’: Finding a Home for Arabic Short Stories in Translation
In January 2021, University of Texas Press published Shahla Ujayli’s A Bed for the King's Daughter, which won in 2017 the AlMultaqa Prize, given annually for short-story collections: By Tugrul Mende Even though the collection was acclaimed in Arabic, Sawad Hussain had a hard time finding a publisher for her translation. In this interview, Sawad Hussain … Continue reading ‘A Bed for the King’s Daughter’: Finding a Home for Arabic Short Stories in Translation
Tareq Imam: ‘The Writer Has Become Everyone’s Target’
"Translators have approached me in the past about translating my work into English, but it didn’t come to anything because I wasn’t comfortable with some of their editorial suggestions, such as amplifying a particular aspect of the text or emphasizing an element to which I hadn’t given prominence."
‘All Our Translations Are Prose Poems’: A Talk with Huda Fakhreddine
"I think poetry transcends time. A genuinely poetic approach to the study of poetry is one that breaks itself from historicism."
2020: An ArabLit Year in Review
We look back at a few of the most widely read features and biggest ArabLit moments of 2020.
Novelist Ashraf Fagih on Dracula, Fibonacci, and the Connections Between Historical Fiction and Sci Fi
"A Portrait of the Void is a novel to be expected on Arabic prize lists next year. Meantime, Alfagih answers a few questions about what brought him to writing this novel, the surprises from his research, and who should play Fibonacci in the film."
Sherin Younis on Motherhood, Dreams, and ‘A Fish in Search of Its Limbs’
"Nobody has the power to impose a limit on the madness of dreams and their ideas, and consequently nobody can judge you for that."
Aida Bamia on Why ‘My First and Only Love’ Was Such An Emotional Translation Experience
" This novel was the most emotional for me to translate, as it also marked the end of a comfortable childhood for me and my siblings, and the beginning of a life in exile."
