The Tyranny of ‘True Stories’: Iman Yehia’s ‘The Mexican Wife’
2019-06-18
“Iman Yehia’s novel, The Mexican Wife, turns into a literary whodunit, propelled by a quest for the truth about Yusuf Idris’ past.”Continue Reading
Iman Yehia and the Story of Yusuf Idris’ Marriage to Diego Rivera’s Daughter
2019-01-23
The photos were a part of the text, and I did not describe them. They give artistic touches so that the reader can feel their ache and circumstances. It is enough to tell you that this novel could not have been published if I had not found a good picture of Hassan Fouad’s “We Defend the Constitution” poster. The discovery of this old, forgotten poster deserves a whole novel.Continue Reading
Celebrating Neil Hewison: An Excerpt from His Translation of ‘City of Love and Ashes’
2017-10-26
“By God, we’ll turn them out of Egypt dancing and singing all the way . . .”Continue Reading
I Leave You With: Dueling Translations of Yusuf Idris’ بيت من لحم
2010-08-25
I have never found translations of Yusuf Idris completely satisfying (because I fear the translator, perhaps?). I think this is something that has hindered world appreciation of Idris, who—whatever his mental-health and jealousy issues might have been—is a tremendous short-story writer.Continue Reading
Celebrate Short Story Month With Yusuf Idris, Ghassan Kanafani, Others
2010-05-08
According to the Emerging Writers Network (as well as a few lit mags and media outlets), May is not just the month of workers and flowers, but is also Short Story Month. To celebrate, you’ll surely need to crack open a collection from the Arabic language’s short-story genius, Yusuf Idris.Continue Reading
