“I think literature buffs have a different take on what is interesting than some others in the field: the “classical standards” (if I understand the phrase as you mean it) include many works that are riveting for religion scholars, fun for philologists, hysterically exciting for historians, but my test for a book is, Would the author be fun to sit in a café with?”
“I think having a bilingual children’s book will make Finnish children interested in Arabic,” Pakkala said over email. “At the same time, Arabic children feel normal.”
“But the most poignant moment for Arabic literature at the Fest was when a chair was left open for Egyptian novelist Ahmed Naji at the event about censorship, “Words Under Siege,” and PEN International’s Romana Cacchioli read Lebanese novelist Hanan al-Shaykh’s open letter to Naji.”
“There was a time when we’d hoped that the state might sponsor and encourage young writers, because there are quite a number of young people at work writing novels. But today I’m not asking for any support from the state; all we ask is that they leave us in peace, and that we write without interference or guidance or censorship.”
“This year’s winners will be announced on January 3, 2017.”
“Arabic literature aside, it’s a serious disappointment not to find serious Bangla, Chinese, Korean, Indonesian, and Russian novels here, as well as novels from sub-Saharan Africa. “
The winner, announced Friday in London, was the poetry collection I Remember My Name, which includes the work of poets Jehan Bseiso, Samah Sabawi, and Ramzy Baroud.
“You need to check out the photos for yourself; in a few years ‘8 Minutes’ won’t seem that fictional.”
“Limbo Beirut″ is a demand that the reader ″balance in the uneasy space between being a voyeur and a participant, gratifying our desire to get inside the head of that stranger we meet on the street…but on the other hand surprising us with the fact that you can never just be a witness, that you′re always going to somehow become involved in the other′s life, whether you mean to or not.″
