Khaled al-Berry – ARABLIT & ARABLIT QUARTERLY

5 Must-read Memoirs (and Not-quite-memoirs)

Assembly Journal, for their “five books” series, asked me to come up with a list of five Arabic books. The field was too dizzyingly wide.

Even when I narrowed my topic to “memoirs and not-quite-memoirs,” it was a difficult winnowing process: What about Galal Amin’s Nectar of the Years? Well, it hasn’t been translated into English, so that’s that, I suppose. Sayyid Qutb or Huda Shaarawi’s memoirs, for their historical and political importance? Taha Hussein’s classic The Days? (But hasn’t everyone already read The Days?)

Poetry

The #Jan25 Revolution and the ‘Liberation’ of Arabic Literature

The good thing is, there is something deep in the Egyptian culture that values reading and writing—we need to unearth it. I really rely more on the kids and younger generations; they will be the real drive behind prospect of change.

Poetry

‘Arabic Booker’ Shortlist: The Coverage, the Controversy, the Predictions

This year, journalists (and the public) had a chance to question several of the IPAF judges—including chair Fadhil al-Azzawi—at an afternoon press conference in Doha.

Poetry

The ‘Arabic Booker’ Shortlist is Out: (And Yes, This Year There’s More Than One Woman)

Two young Egyptians, a prominent Saudi, a Sudanese writer living in Qatar (where he works as a physician) and both the current Moroccan Minister of Culture and a former holder of the post are on this year’s International Prize for Arabic Fiction shortlist.

Poetry

International Prize for Arabic Fiction Longlist Profiles: Khaled al-Berry

There’s a lot in the public domain about our friend Khaled al-Berry, as his memoir of his adolescent years—Life is More Beautiful than Paradise—is available both in Arabic and in English (translated by Humphrey Davies).

Poetry

Longlist Announced for ‘Arabic Booker’ 2011

As predicted, this year’s International Prize for Arabic Fiction (“Arabic Booker”) longlist has more women than in previous years. This year’s longlist is nearly 50-50, with 7 women and 9 men.

On Translation

Friday Links: International Translation Day Wrap-up, New October Issues, More

This week’s major holiday—in your life, I’m sure, as in mine—was International Translation Day! PierenePress did a heroic job of twittercasting live from PEN’s translation-day events; I certainly hope they […]

Poetry

All Right, I Give in, Novels about Football (Soccer)

Everyone seems to be publishing lists of their must-read, English-language books about football (or soccer, where the lists are American). After all, we English speakers do seem to be terribly […]

News

My Former Jihadist Friend Signs Copies of His New Epic Novel

Last night, author Khaled al-Berry defied World Cup mania and celebrated the launch of his new novel, رقصة شرقية (Middle Eastern Dance) at Kotob Khan in New Ma’adi. The book, […]