Why Do You Read Arabic Literature (in Translation)?
Translator-novelist Elliott Colla has suggested that there are a few core reasons why American readers pick up Arabic literature (in translation).
On Translation
‘If There Were Literary Editors, We Would See a Rennaisance in the Arab Novel’
Last week, al-Sharq al-Awsat ran a three-part interview by Raba’i Madhoun — one part with England-based Lebanese novelist Hanan al-Shaykh, one with France-based Moroccan critic and short-story writer Mohammed El-Mezdioui and one with American novelist and translator Elliott Colla.
Translations That Erase the ‘Underlying Arabic’
When I opened up Raba’i Madhoun’s The Lady from Tel Aviv, trans. Elliott Colla, I had a hard time believing it was السيدة من تل أبيب.
John Dryden Translation Competition: Now Open
The 2013-2014 John Dryden Translation Competition is now open for entries, which calls for unpublished literary translations from any language into English.
Philip Kennedy: These Books Shouldn’t Just Hide on a Shelf
Philip F. Kennedy, the Library of Arabic Literature’s General Editor, has been a key force in putting systems in place and getting the LAL — which focuses on Arabic-English editions of classical and pre-modern Arabic literature — on its feet. He spoke with ArabLit at the 2013 Abu Dhabi International Book Fair about how the project came about, noting a few the challenges the editors and editor-translators have faced.
Do We Package Books in Translation ‘Too Earnestly’?
“Superagent” Nicole Aragi shared her insights on selling translations to an American reading public with Guernica magazine.
Now Online for Summer Reading: Arabic Poetry and Prose in Translation
A few newly translated poems, stories, and novel excerpts for your July reading.
Crowd-funding Translations?
Could crowd-funding work for Arabic translations into English or other languages?
‘A Lot of Translating is About Not Making A Fuss’
One of ArabLit’s favorite readers and book-club leaders, Elisabeth Jaquette, has just posted the Cairo Book Club’s first-ever podcast, from their discussion of Mourid Barghouti’s “I Was Born There, I Was Born Here,” led by the book’s English-language translator, Humphrey Davies.