February 2014: Global Arab and Arabic Literature Events Calendar
Arab- and Arabic-literature events going on around the world. Please add on below.
News
‘The Keepers of Infinite Space’
It is difficult to write anything after yesterday’s events in Cairo. But if you’re in London, PalFest alumnus and playwright Omar El-Khairy’s “Keepers of Infinite Space” is now open at the Park Theatre
‘Celebratory’ Events Curtailed at Cairo International Book Fair; Damage at National Library
Despite grief and anger over the deaths resulting from four bombings around the city, the third day of the Cairo International Book Fair was still packed with fair-goers. The bombings have resulted in at least five deaths, dozens of injuries, and severe damage to the Islamic Art Museum, where volunteers and staff are trying to rescue important artifacts before the ceilings collapse. Meanwhile, organizers announced that while the book fair wouldn’t close, any celebratory events would be postponed.
International Prize for Arabic Fiction Shortlist Countdown: Reading ’God’s Land of Exile’
ArabLit and 7iber are jointly covering this year’s Internation Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) – in English and Arabic — beginning with reviews of the novels and interviews with longlisted novelists. We continue with Ashraf al-Khamaisi’s God’s Land of Exile, a book reviewer Raphael Cormack says has “earned its place on the longlist.”
Ashraf al-Khamaisi on Writing Bedouin Lives, Thinking Globally
Raphael Cormack sat down with Egyptian novelist and short-story writer Ashraf al-Khamaisi, to talk about writing, life, and his International Prize for Arabic Fiction-longlisted “God’s Land of Exile.” The interview in its entirety is on SoundCloud. Here, Cormack has extracted and summarized a few moments about writing, death, and translation.
IPAF-longlisted ‘God’s Land of Exile’: Shifting Perspectives on Death
Raphael Cormack (@RaphaelCormack) reviews Ashraf al-Khamaysi’s International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF)-longlisted God’s Land of Exile. This timeless-feeling novel, he says, has earned its place on the longlist.
The Invisible Moroccan: Reading Hassan Najmi’s ‘Gertrude,’ Reading Tangiers
In Hassan Najmi’s “Gertrude” (trans. Roger Allen, 2014), the author quietly inserts a Moroccan from Tangiers into the tumultuous turn-of-the-20th-century lives of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas. This quietness echoes with the oddness and invisibility of Tanjawi Moroccans in the works of American authors who spent time in the international zone — Paul Bowles, William Burroughs, and others.
Librarian’s Guide to Developing an Arabic Literature Collection
Isabella Rowan, the international languages and ESL librarian and Arabic cataloger at Dearborn Public Library in Dearborn, USA, knows a thing or two about managing an Arabic-literature collection at a US public library. She shared some of her insight.
Pass It On: IWP Creative Writing Camp Seeks Arabic-writing Teens
The Iowa-based International Writing Program’s “Between the Lines” writing camp is looking for applicants, aged 16-19, from countries across the region.