M.-Lynx-Qualey

Online or Behind Closed Doors: The Big Saudi Discussion

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?

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Hamlet: Is He The Arab World’s True Hero?

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.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Vending Machines for Books: A Good Idea?

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

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

‘There’s No Room For Poets, Unless They’re Dead’

‘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.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Pure Theatre: The Drama Of The Press Conference

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

 Crossroads Arabia

Saudi Authorities Crack Down on ‘Book Fair Louts’

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.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

‘Cairo, My City, Our Revolution’: Leader in ’18 Day’ Genre

‘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.

 Steve Royston

‘My Beautiful Bahrain’: An Alternative View

‘My Beautiful Bahrain’: An Alternative View

STEVE ROYSTON: Many of us who have decided to settle in Bahrain remain determined to see the positive in spite of the recent troubles

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Laughter and Anger: In the Court of Al Aswany

Laughter and Anger: In the Court of Al Aswany

M. LYNX-QUALEY: He is arguably Egypt’s leading public intellectual and every week he holds public salons whose numbers have swelled hugely over the past year.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Goodbye Ibrahim Aslan: Daily Debris Was His Inspiration

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

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Best Arabic Books of 2011: A Personal Choice

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.

 Steve Royston

Kingmakers, Invention of the Modern Middle East

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.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

A Force for Freedom, Mohamed Hashem

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.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Art’s Struggle to Define Who & What is ‘Tahrir’

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…

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Libya Hosts Book ‘Un-Banning Ceremony’

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.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Emirati Female Writers Finding Their Feet

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…

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Nawal al-Saadawi: Writer or Politician First?

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?

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

‘No Government Support’ for Arabic Literature

‘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.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

When Will We See the Arabic ‘Harry Potter’?

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.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Leading Syrian Writers and Artists Under Attack

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