Online or Behind Closed Doors: The Big Saudi Discussion
M. LYNX-QUALEY: There’s liberation in discussing ideas online but also dangers. Where do young Saudis discuss the big issues?
Hamlet: Is He The Arab World’s True Hero?
HUSSEIN OMAR, ARABLIT: Nasser had a ‘Caesar Complex’ but for Egyptians and many other Arabs there’s only one Shakespearean hero.
Vending Machines for Books: A Good Idea?
M. LYNX-QUALEY: Drinks, gold, now it’s books – Abu Dhabi seems to find endless uses for the vending machine
‘There’s No Room For Poets, Unless They’re Dead’
FARIS ADNON, ARABLIT: The narrative form has overwhelmed poetry in the Arab world, so I’ve given up on poetry.
Pure Theatre: The Drama Of The Press Conference
MAURICE CHAMMAH, ARABLIT: It’s a performance which has protagonists and an audience. Too often though the drama is not reflected in the finished article
Saudi Authorities Crack Down on ‘Book Fair Louts’
CROSSROADS ARABIA: The Saudi Ministry of Culture and Information has taken a firm line on trouble-makers at the Riyadh Book Fair.
‘Cairo, My City, Our Revolution’: Leader in ’18 Day’ Genre
M. LYNX-QUALEY: There’s a new genre in Arabic literature and not surprisingly Ahdaf Soueif is showing the way.
Goodbye Ibrahim Aslan: Daily Debris Was His Inspiration
M. LYNX-QUALEY: He wrote about everyday lives filled with frustration and dead-ends but leavened by laughter. Farewell, Ibrahim, we’ll miss you
Best Arabic Books of 2011: A Personal Choice
M. LYNX-QUALEY: It’s been a momentous year in politics in the Arab World but how has literature measured up? Herewith 2011 ‘s highlights.
Kingmakers, Invention of the Modern Middle East
STEVE ROYSTON: Book Review: Here you’ll find the Britons and Americans – proconsuls, agents provocateurs, spies, politicians – that shaped the Middle East.
A Force for Freedom, Mohamed Hashem
M.LYNX-QUALEY: At a press conference today, award-winning author Mohamed Hashem was the target of accusations by the SCAF’s General Adel Emara.
Art’s Struggle to Define Who & What is ‘Tahrir’
M.LYNX-QUALEY: Dina Adel asserts that all this means art in Egypt (and perhaps beyond) is undergoing a renaissance, another Nahda…
Libya Hosts Book ‘Un-Banning Ceremony’
M. LYNX-QUALEY: Who knows – it could set the template for a wave of such events. Libya’s ‘Book Un-Banning Ceremony’ is worth celebrating.
Emirati Female Writers Finding Their Feet
M. LYNX-QUALEY: A collection of writing from Emirati authors, showcased in the journal ‘Banipal’, demonstrates the wide variety of female voices in the UAE…
Nawal al-Saadawi: Writer or Politician First?
M. LYNX QUALEY: She’s just approaching her 80th birthday and has begun work on a new novel set in Tahrir Square. A divisive character is she first and foremost a political activist or writer?
‘No Government Support’ for Arabic Literature
M. LYNX-QUALEY: Unlike most Western governments there is little appetite among any Arab government for the translation and promotion of literature. It’s a great shame.
When Will We See the Arabic ‘Harry Potter’?
NOURA AL NOMAN, ARABLIT.COM: There is a serious lack of Arabic literature for young adults. What we need is an Arabic ‘Harry Potter’. Easier said than done.
Leading Syrian Writers and Artists Under Attack
M. LYNX QUALEY: Whether it’s novelists, songwriters or cartoonists artists of all shades and description are subject to vicious and sustained attack