9 Short Stories by Egyptian Women, in Translation
Although this list does include short stories by Radwa Ashour and Salwa Bakr, it largely focuses on work by women writers who emerged in the ’90s, ’00s, and ’10s.
WiTMonth
30 Reads: A Month of Algerian Literature by Women
“Of course, I do enjoy painting for you, right now, a slightly more calamitous situation than the one I actually face – I blame Algerian fiction’s long love affair with tragedies for my theatrics. But the truth is still harsh.”
Sahar Khalifeh: ‘I Am A Committed Writer, Or Maybe I Am An Obsessed Writer’
“I am a committed writer or maybe I am an obsessed writer. I am obsessed by occupation because I live it. I witness the atrocities of occupation. I witness and live through those atrocities and still am living them.”
9 Short Stories by Algerian Women, in Translation
We hope to see more Algerian women’s writing in translation. For now, we recommend these four stories, all translated from French.
New Poetry: Samar Abdel Jaber’s ‘Four Years Without You’
“Perhaps you think poetry / is a waste of time, for eternity can’t be rendered in languages / and death after death / has a different name.”
‘If I Were a Cat’: Rasha Omran’s Poetry in Three Languages
“If I were a cat / I would was my skin with my tongue / like this / your scent passing from my skin to my mouth, so I’d think I’d devoured you”
2020 Women in Translation Month: A Look Back
For those who might have missed some of our 2020 Women in Translation Month (#WiTMonth) coverage, a look back.
Vénus Khoury-Ghata: ‘The Woman Who Wasn’t in the Photo’
“I am very disciplined. I wake up early every morning and begin work on my own novels and poems. Then I take care of my cats and others’ work.”
Sunday Classics: Al Khansa, the ‘Greatest Among Those with Breasts’ (& Testicles, Too)
Yet the thing that translates so easily about al-Khansa is her self-belief. It is quite easy for any of us in 2020 to imagine a woman poet being praised in such a meager way, “Not bad for someone with boobs.” And responding with a sharp-tongued jab at a man’s nether regions.