‘The World Lost a Major Writer’
The Egypt Independent has just posted my farewell to Ibrahim Aslan: “Goodbye Ibrahim Aslan.” It begins: “The most beautiful of the Nile’s birds leaves the lake this evening,” Palestinian poet […]
News
Rest In Peace, Ibrahim Aslan
The great Ibrahim Aslan (1935-2012) died yesterday after entering the hospital with heart trouble. He was 77. His funeral will be held today at the Mosque of Bilal bin Rabah […]
The ‘Lie that is Arabic Literature’
If I have an objection to Youssef Rakha’s “Scribo ergo sum” (and I am certainly among those who should feel its sting) it is that he singles out “talentless women” […]
Sheikh Zayed Book Award Announces ‘Literature’ Longlist
Sheikh Zayed Book Award (SZBA) organizers yesterday announced two more longlists. The biggest pool of nominees—148 books—came in the “literature” category. Six of these books were chosen for the list. […]
Can You Ace the Mahfouz Quiz?
For those who are still celebrating Mahfouz’s 100th birthday, I have an eight-question quiz over at Al Masry Al Youm/Egypt Independent, and, at Your Middle East, a review of The Essential Naguib Mahfouz, […]
5 Questions with Robin Moger on Translating Ahmed Mourad’s ‘Vertigo’
Ahmed Mourad’s popular and groundbreaking 2007 novel, Vertigo, came out this past fall in translation (My short review for the Egypt Independent.) Below, five questions with translator Robin Moger: ArabLit: Even […]
A Q&A with Forces Behind a New Gulf Poetry Anthology, ‘Gathering the Tide’
The introduction to the poetry anthology Gathering the Tide: An Anthology of Contemporary Arabian Gulf Poetry, out this month, begins: “It started simply enough. In an introduction to poetry class, […]
Arabic Lit (in Translation): Five to Look for in 2012
What’s forthcoming in translation is not nearly as well-publicized as the big English-language novels. But here are 5 to look for in 2012: The Lady from Tel Aviv, by Rabai […]
A ‘Best of Arabic Literature (in English)’ 2011
There were more than three dozen Arabic books published in English translation this year, as well as dozens of books by authors of the Arab diaspora(s). The bulk of what […]