The ‘Tyranny of Sex’ in the Saudi Novel
Al Jazeera reports that the cultural pages of Gulf newspapers are brimming with talk about sex. Or, rather, they’re brimming with talk about talk about sex. This is because sex […]
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Youssef Rakha Takes On Samia Mehrez’s /Egypt’s Culture Wars/
Samia Mehrez’s 2008 work of literary criticism, Egypt’s Culture Wars, has finally made it to print in Egypt (AUC Press, March 2010). This week, Youssef Rakha takes the opportunity to […]
Egyptian Satirist Mahmoud Al-Saadani Dies
Well-known Egyptian satirist Mahmoud al-Saadani died in Kuwait this week after an eight-year illness. He was 82. The Al Jazeera obituary called al-Saadani “one of the pioneers of satirical writing […]
Do E-Books Leave Arabs ‘Cold’?
First off, let’s just say there is something faintly irritating about this headline, from The Media Line, which links Arabs, e-books, and moral temperature. Arabs—I know I get boring; I […]
PalFest Day 2: Palestine Like a Humor-writing Masterclass
In his Day 2 blog on the PalFest website, author William Sutcliffe writes about his reading, given in a Turkish bath, and about what being in Palestine has taught him […]
What Will Jump-start Reading in Arabic in the Arab World, Continued
AbdelRahman, Anna, and Maryanne have made me continue to wrestle with this question, which was raised by 7iber.com last week and discussed here. Clearly, as AbdelRahman notes, it won’t be […]
The Cairo Mediterranean Literary Festival: May 5-12
I don’t know quite what to expect from this lit festival—this being its “first edition”—but it seems relatively well organized, if not well publicized. I do appreciate organizer Baad el […]
Hissa Hilal Edits Controversial New Poetry Collection, Still Called ‘Saudi Housewife’
This is a two-part post. Part one: The award-winning poet Hissa Hilal, who ended up third in the most recent season of Million’s Poet, has recently edited a controversial collection […]