‘On the Back of Restless Winds’
In his 2015 autobiography, A Time of Wind, Anxiety, and Freedom (أزمنة الريح والقلق والحرية ), Sudanese scholar Dr. Hayder Ibrahim Ali offers a rare and insightful account of Sudan’s intellectual and political life.
Adil Babikir
Mohammed el-Makki Ibrahim and the Homeland as Beloved
For Sudanese readers living through the current crisis, the following lines by the late Mohammed el-Makkī Ibrahim resonate with striking immediacy, even though they were written in the 1980s. Beneath the layers of grief, a restrained optimism continues to breathe through its lines.
When October is No Longer Green: A Poet’s Reflections on the Continuing War in Sudan
By Adil Babikir October holds a special place in the modern history of Sudan. During this month, sixty years ago, the Sudanese people overthrew the first military dictatorship in what […]
New Short Fiction by Ziad A. Mahafza: ‘This Body Isn’t Mine’
This Body isn’t Mine By Ziad A. Mahafza Translated by Adil Babikir When I woke up that night from a prolonged coma, it felt as if I were swimming in […]
From Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin’s ‘Samahani’
Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin’s Samahani is out this week from Foundry Editions in team translation by Mayada Ibrahim and Adil Babikir. Samahani–which means “forgive me” in Swahili, stands “in stark contrast […]
On Translating ‘Samahani’: Stepping Outside the Colonial Gaze
Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin’s Samahani is out today from Foundry Editions in team translation by Mayada Ibrahim and Adil Babikir. Samahani–which means “forgive me” in Swahili, stands “in stark contrast to […]
Tayeb Salih: ‘Yes, the Nile Speaks to Me’
Introduced and translated by Adil Babikir “I was always fascinated by the river from my very early childhood”, Tayeb Salih once said. “And I think I somewhat understood what the […]
New Releases in March & April 2023: Poetry from Iraq and Sudan, a Historical Novel from Egypt
From March and April, a list of recently released and forthcoming novels, poetry collections, and a study of Sudanese poetry.
Remembering Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, an Avant Garde Pioneer of Sudanese Poetry
“Were they a bundle of arugula,
displayed for sale to the westerners in the big city,
they’d have been spared the scorching heat.
Instead, they’d have been carefully placed on a wet matt in the shade,
their lips kept wet with sprinkled water
their cheeks sparkling with freshness and moisture.”