Remembering Fadwa Suleiman: ‘Two Tears Flooding Paris’
This poem first appeared in the British magazine The Wolf. It appears here — to celebrate the life and writing of Fadwa Suleiman — with permission.
WiTMonth
Sunday Classics: The Fearless Zaynab Fawwaz (c. 1850-1914)
“When Zaynab Fawwaz died in early 1914, long obituaries appeared in Egypt’s newspapers: she was not forgotten in her own time.”
#WiTMonth Bulaq: ‘Reporting While Arab and Female’
For the UK launch of Our Women on the Ground, an updated discussion of this collection of essays by women journalists from around the region, “Reporting While Arab and Female.”
Women’s Writing in Arabic: The State of Translations to Spanish, French, Greek
Nadia Ghanem: “At any rate, both nationally and internationally, the literary production of women is neglected, of that i’ve no doubt, and I can’t explain it to myself given that Algerian women produce so much literature.”
#WiTMonth Poetry: Amina Saïd’s ‘I Live Here in the Basement of the Gare de Lyon’
“you come from somewhere else too he says / and the stones moan with absence / the earth stops turning / once yes once I also had a country”
#WiTMonth Conversations: Shahla Ujayli and Getting Raqqa Back Through Writing
“Raqqa is no longer the city I knew; I belong to a place that no longer exists. I try to get it back through writing.”
New Lit: Baya Mahieddine’s ‘The Great Great Big Bird’
“Le Grand Zoiseau” narrates the story of a little girl who wants to marry, and, seeing her mother deny her the right, she takes matters into her own magic hands.
Sunday Classics: Erotic Surrealist Poet Joyce Mansour
“Mansour took much of her inspiration from ancient religions and traditions, including ancient Egypt, where death is not considered to be the end of life, but rather is a transition to another reality.”
On Latifa al-Zayyat Day: ‘Her Laughter Brought Me Up Short’
“The woman was always surprising me with her continuous, sometimes abrupt, and loud laughter; and then she no longer surprised me — I got used to and grew to love both Latifa herself and her laughter.”