Poetry

“In an Arabic cultural scene that’s full of novels about political and societal issues, Maarouf gives us a chance to breathe and taste something different[.]”

“GLOSSARIUM: UNSILENCED TEXTS AND MODERN TRANSLATIONS was established in early 2016 in an effort to recover silenced voices outside and beyond the familiar poetic canon, seeking out and publishing both contemporary translations and little known (and unknown) out of print texts, in particular those under siege by restrictive regimes and silencing practices in their home (or adoptive) countries.”

“This award reminds Fayadh, his family, his supporters, and most importantly, his jailers, that his colleagues will continue advocate for his right to freedom of expression until he is released.”

Previous winners of the Khayrallah Prize include Lebanese-Australian playwright David Joseph and Lebanese-American author Joseph Geha.

“Full manuscripts are welcome.”

“You cross the bridge suspended over the canal. Colored ships slowly glide across the surface of blue waters below. Now and then, from beyond the hills of fine sand, a date palm emerges, a village, some people. Fish dart across the lake and a swarthy, dusty child poses for the camera, stick in hand.”

The prize has six categories: Young Adult Book of the Year, Best Text, Best Illustrations, Best Production, and Digital Book App of the Year. There is also a “Children’s Book of the Year” award, a top prize worth 300,000 AED, that additionally goes to a book in any of the categories.

The grant has allowed Smokestack to pay a small contributors’ fee of £10 a page, but the crowdfunding campaign seeks to “increase this fee to a more professional rate; to cover design and printing costs for the book; and to raise money toward the legal fees of Ashraf Fayadh and Dareen Tatour, both currently imprisoned, respectively in Saudi Arabia and Israel, on charges related to their poetry.”

“when the night’s at its peak and the dark’s full of rain,
and the wet silence roils like a fierce hurricane”