"Humphrey Davies discusses how he came to the novel, why this isn't your woo-woo cliché of Kafka, and how coronavirus came to appear in a novel published in 2017."
Friday Finds: Muhammad al-Tunisi’s 19th-c. Account of Darfur
"No manuscript copy of the work exists. Its earliest recension is a lithographic edition, in the hand of Nicolas Perron, the author's institutional superior and student, published in Paris in 1850."
And the Winner of the Saif Ghobash Prize for Arabic Literary Translation Is…
Sometimes, being the runner-up isn't so bad. Particularly, well, if you're runner-up to yourself. The Ghobash results:
The Winner Humphrey Davies
Runner-up Humphrey Davies
Runner-up Kareem James Abu-Zeid
Judges Deliberating on Saif Ghobash Prize for Arabic Literary Translation
Banipal has apparently been saving up their news, as a whole bunch of it appeared in my inbox this morning. Among the news items: judges will be deliberating on the Saif Ghobash - Banipal prize-winners later this month.
British Khoury Fans Will See /As Though She Were Sleeping/ Sooner than Americans
And again, the dueling translations. Just as when Elias Khoury's terrifying, wonderful, critically acclaimed Yalo came out in English (with Peter Theroux doing the Archipelago translation and Humphrey Davies the Quercus translation), his As Though She Were Sleeping will have different translators on different sides of the Atlantic. Quercus is again using Humphrey Davies (who … Continue reading British Khoury Fans Will See /As Though She Were Sleeping/ Sooner than Americans
Update on Barghouti’s /I Was Born There, I Was Born Here/
Bibliophiles take note: Palestinian poet Mourid Bargouti's new memoir is set to come out in in English next fall from American University in Cairo Press. The translation of Bargouti's second memoir, I Was Born There, I Was Born Here (ولدت هناك، ولدت هنا), is being done by Humphrey Davies. Davies also translated Elias Khoury's Gate … Continue reading Update on Barghouti’s /I Was Born There, I Was Born Here/
Footnoting Arabic Literature (in English): Yay or Nay?
I recently finished reading Elias Khoury's Little Mountain (1977), as translated by the able and lovely Maia Tabet.* The translation, published in 1989, is full of footnotes. (It wasn't until 1996 that the New York Times declared the footnote dead. But apparently parenthetical references are still okay.) Tabet's footnotes sketch in details about caliph Omar … Continue reading Footnoting Arabic Literature (in English): Yay or Nay?
5 Arabic Books (in English) to Read ‘Before You Die’
Well, perhaps this one was a bit morbid: The "Five Before You Die" was a feature we ran back in the summer 2010; by now, there are now many more great Arabic books available in translation, but this remains a strong list from translators, authors, critics, and publishers. Shakir Mustafa Although he might not put … Continue reading 5 Arabic Books (in English) to Read ‘Before You Die’
