From Duna Ghali’s ‘Orbits of Loneliness’
A few years ago, when we asked Egyptian novelist Miral al-Tahawy for a favorite book in Arabic by a woman writer, she said, “Truth is, there is a long list of Arab women’s work that I’m sure was important in the history of my reading, but what I remember is the last text I read that had a profound impact on me, and that’s Duna Ghali’s Orbits of Loneliness (منازل الوحشة), a novel that tells ...
‘Bidayàt’: Aldo Nicosia on a Collection of Beginnings
The forthcoming collection Bidayàt, ed. Aldo Nicosia, brings together the openings of twenty-two different Arabic novels; these are translated into Italian by Nicosia with the help of two other translators. For ArabLit, Nicosia sat down in front of the mirror and conducted a somewhat impertinent interview with himself about the project. Interviewer: Mr. Nicosia, why Bidayàt? What new does it add to the Italian cultural landscape? Aldo Nicosia: Bidayàt is an anthology that, as its ...
From ALQ: Football Chants from Palestine
In the Fall 2021 issue of ArabLit Quarterly, we focused on FOOTBALL, and especially its many literary manifestations. Among these are the chants sung at matches; the issue brought together diverse chants from Algeria, Bahrain, Morocco, Egypt, and Palestine. In each country, the football chants reflect not just the fans' relationship with their team, but with the wider society and world. In the two chants author Ameer Hamad selected and translated for this issue -- from the ...
Fiction
From Duna Ghali’s ‘Orbits of Loneliness’
A few years ago, when we asked Egyptian novelist Miral al-Tahawy for a favorite book in Arabic by a woman writer, she said, “Truth is, there is a long list of Arab women’s work that I’m sure was important in ...
An Excerpt from Najem Wali’s ‘My Romantic Aunt’
Najem Wali’s 2024 novel My Romantic Aunt, published by Rewayat, follows a man’s relationship with his boundary-breaking aunt. From ‘My Romantic Aunt: Her friends, Her Relationships, and Me’ By Najem Wali Translated by Nada Hodali About Her My “Romantic Aunt.” Whoever ...
An Excerpt of Abdulaziz al-Saqabi’s ‘A Drop of Alcohol’
In Abdulaziz al-Saqabi’s A Drop of Alcohol, the search for an absent brother turns into a journey of self-discovery. A Drop of Alcohol By Abdulaziz al-Saqabi Translated by Lily Sadowsky Chapter One “Who are you afraid of? Go on, get a move on ...
Poetry
From ALQ: Football Chants from Palestine
In the Fall 2021 issue of ArabLit Quarterly, we focused on FOOTBALL, and especially its many literary manifestations. Among these are the ...
New Poetry: ‘From Gaza, Answering Darwish’
From Gaza, Answering Darwish By Basman Eldirawi with Mahmoud Darwish, translations by Ibrahim Muhawi In March, spring rains return, ...
Poetry in Translation: Riyad al-Saleh al-Hussein’s ‘War. War. War’
Nearly four decades after his death at the age of 28, Riyad al-Saleh al-Hussein’s work remains a vibrant part of ...
Interviews
‘Bidayàt’: Aldo Nicosia on a Collection of Beginnings
The forthcoming collection Bidayàt, ed. Aldo Nicosia, brings together the openings of twenty-two different Arabic novels; these are translated into ...
‘Before the Queen Falls Asleep’: In Conversation with Kay Heikkinen
By Tugrul Mende This month, a second of Huzama Habayeb’s novels was published in English translation, this time by MacLehose ...
Hanan Jasim-Khammas: On Writing the Body in Iraqi Literature After 2003
By Olivia Snaije Iraqi academic Hanan Jasim-Khammas was just 19 in 2004, when the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse came to ...
Country Focus
From the archives
‘When Darkness Falls’: On the Shortened, Brilliant Life of Iraqi Author Hayat Sharara
“The word eib rings in my head, it is eib to love, to sing, to get sick, to divorce, to show your emotions…and.…and. I felt these social chains were burdening me with fear, despair, and confusion, and I almost abandoned work on the book, but when I looked at the materials that I had collected, I knew that if I didn’t publish it now, it would never be published.”
For Valentine’s Day: The Many Loves of Nizar Qabbani
Your love has taught me… how to be sad.
And I have needed, for ages
A woman to make me sad
A woman in whose arms I could weep
Like a sparrow,
Another Road for Syrian Poetry
“The divide among poets has added a diaspora to the spatial diaspora, which scattered Syrians around the world.”