Poetry

Finally, The National has a piece about the (so-called) death of Arabic that really gets me. I was unmoved by stories about Arabic’s declining use in the Emirates and Qatar; […]

For Hissa Hilal’s international fans—most of whom, presumably, are unacquainted with her verse—the decision of last Million’s Poet judges will be a disappointment. The show’s winner was the 30-year-old Kuwaiti […]

The new Arab-English publishing venture—the Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing (BQFP)—unveiled its first list of books at the Tate in London yesterday. This comes after a big BQFP launch party hosted […]

Tonight’s the night for Hissa Hilal—and the four other finalists competing against the suddenly world-famous Saudi poetess for the title of “Million’s Poet.” According to The National, the five finalists […]

Sousan Hammad always asks when the Beirut39-ers (a group of 39 up-and-coming Arab writers under 40) began writing. Moroccan novelist and short-story writer Abdelaziz Errachidi had one of the more […]

The Guardian reports that there will be six (young) Arab authors appearing at the prestigious Hay Festival, set to begin at the end of May. The Guardian lists their names, […]

It’s not often that a poet attains international celebrity of the sort enjoyed by “Britain’s Got Talent” songstress Susan Boyle. Even less often is it that this a poet who […]

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information reported yesterday that the house of publisher Ahmed Mahanna was raided. Mahanna, director of the publishing house Dar Dawwin, was apparently arrested because […]

Khaled al-Berry, author of Life is More Beautiful Than Paradise, has an interview airing today on BBC World about his time in the Jama’a Islamiya (and, I assume, about his […]