“My father got dressed, brushed off his tarbush with the sleeve of his jacket, and placed it at an appropriate tilt on his head. Then he twisted the ends of his white mustache all the way up to his nostrils. We left the apartment, locking the door behind us, and went down to the street. I noticed we were heading toward the tram stop.”
“yes, the sea changes colors / drinking the yellow of my doubt and distrust / turning as blue as my melody / my songs and ships set sail on its scattered waves”
Join this (virtual) conference on Arabic literary theory, hosted at Columbia University.
“His mouth discharged a second snort. I worried he might attack me, or tear me apart, but he settled his body back into the chair and sighed. “
The Brown University event is set for 12 – 1 p.m. EST on February 3, 2021. You can register to attend the webinar or follow on YouTube.
In general, I was hoping to introduce to students the genres (premodern and modern) where women writers have contributed to what we might, with some skepticism, call the “canon” of Arabic literature.
Iraqi poet Nazik al-Mala’ika is best known for the important role she played in the development and popularization of Arabic “free verse” (or taf’ila poetry) in the 1950s. But while she is well known as a pioneer, her verse itself is less well-known, and largely absent in translation. Emily Drumstra has translated one of al-Mala’ika’s poems for Jadaliyya, “Revolt Against the Sun,” and is currently at work on another translation. She talked about translating al-Mala’ika.
