The Trouble with the Muscat International Book Fair
The Muscat International Book Fair—one of the region’s largest—kicked off earlier this week, and is set to run through March 4.
Poetry
Egypt’s Cultural Future: The Death of the ‘Intellectual’?
Al-Arabiya talked yesterday with two-week Minister of Culture Gaber Asfour, who resigned in the waning days of the Mubarak regime, as well as with several other cultural figures, including Culture Wheel founder Mohamed al-Sawy.
The #Jan25 Revolution and the ‘Liberation’ of Arabic Literature
The good thing is, there is something deep in the Egyptian culture that values reading and writing—we need to unearth it. I really rely more on the kids and younger generations; they will be the real drive behind prospect of change.
One Book Fair Closes, Another One Opens: Tahrir Book Fair Set for End of March
“Temporary” Minister of Culture Zahi Hawass (yes, Zahi Hawass) has said that the 43rd Cairo International Book Fair may yet run in May, following fairs in Riyadh, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai. Meanwhile, AUC Press announced that they were organizing an alternative “Tahrir Book Fair” at the downtown campus.
On Revolution and Bahraini Poet Qassim Haddad
During the middle days of the Egyptian revolution, a group of 137 Bahraini writers, artists, and intellectuals issued a statement in solidarity with the Egyptians’ struggle for freedom and dignity.
One of the signatories, according to Bahrain’s Gulf Daily News, was celebrated Bahraini poet Qassim Haddad.
Publishers Asked to Retrieve Books from Site of 43rd Cairo International Book Fair
As recently as a few days ago, there seemed to be a possibility that the 43rd Cairo International Book Fair might yet open this month. The fair was originally scheduled to begin on Jan. 26 at the Cairo International Conference Center, and then was postponed to the 29th following organizational difficulties.
Ibn Tufayl’s ‘Hayy ibn Yaqzan’ Adapted to Stage as ‘Journey’
When scholars battle (in a bottle) over the world’s first “novel,” some point to Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. Others tip their hats to Ibn Tufayl’s Hayy ibn Yaqzan (Hayy [Alive], son of Yaqzan [Awake]), which was translated into Latin and English in the latter half of the 17th century and served as an inspiration for Defoe’s 1719 adventure novel.
Qabbani Love Poems for Your Valentine’s Day
The Syrian poet Nizar Qabbani (1923-1998) was one of the most popular Arabic-language poets of the twentieth century, well-known for his focus on eroticism and love. As Bassam Frangieh notes in his introduction to Arabian Love Poems, a collection of Qabbani’s work he co-translated with Clementina Brown, “To say that Kabbani was the most popular and famous of contemporary Arab poets is not to claim that he was the most skilled.”
5 Novels on: Revolution and Tahrir Square
Five Egyptian novels on revolution in Tahrir Square.