“If You Only Ever Read Five Arabic Books, Read These”
M. LYNX-QUALEY: So you’ve decided that there’s only enough time in your life to read five Arabic books (translated). Here’s a little help deciding which five.
‘Un-Layshed’: New Multimedia Project Targets Teens
M. LYNX-QUALEY: A new initiative is designed to encourage teens and young adults, a notoriously unreceptive group, to discover the joy of reading.
Emirati Sci-Fi Author ‘In No Hurry’ To Translate
M. LYNX-QUALEY: Noura Noman is delighted that her sci-fi novel in Arabic is appealing to primarily teenage audience starved of popular literature in their language
‘Revolution Against Classical Arabic Is Now Required’
M. LYNX-QUALEY: There is a strong and growing sentiment against the constraints put upon writers in the region who write in a collloquial style
Popular and Acclaimed: The Voice of Arab Women?
M. LYNX-QUALEY: Her latest novel has sold more than 100,000 copies within the first two months of release. She is, though, a sharply divisive figure
A ‘Compelling’ Vision of Cairo ‘In All Its Multiplicities’
ELISABETH JAQUETTE, ARABLIT: Samia Mehrez has brought together a variety of writers’ views of Cairo over the past century.
Banned Egyptian Graphic Novel ‘Is Back on Shelves’
ELISABETH JAQUETTE, ARABLIT: The re-publication of an infamous work could portend the arrival of a ‘golden age’ in Arabic graphic novels
‘The Elusive Morsi’: President Avoids Writer Meeting
M. LYNX-QUALEY: President Morsi decided to give the traditional author meeting a miss at the opening of the Cairo Book Fair. What’s he afraid of?
Elias Khoury’s ‘Beautiful Letter’ to Bab Al Shams
M. LYNX-QUALEY: The novelist Elias Khoury has written a letter to Palestinians who began building a village on land seized by Israel. A haunting, elegiac letter
Taha Hussein: Arab World’s (Nearly) Nobel Choice
M. LYNX-QUALEY: He was nominated twice but never matched the Arab World’s only Nobel literature prize recipient, Naguib Mahfouz.
An Iraqi Icon: Fadhil Al-Azzawi Reviews His Career
AMIRA ABD EL-KHALEK, CGNEWS: He is one of the Arab World’s most revered authors and recently looked back on his life of writing.
The Trouble With Egypt: How To Explain To Children
MONA ELNAMOURY, ARABLIT: Fatima Almaadoul, a children’s author, has come up with an interesting way to talk to children about Egypt’s troubled present
‘Beauty of Arabic? No, the Violence of Events Is Vital’
SARAH IRVING, ARABLIT: An Iraqi refugee now based in Finland Hassan Blasim has firm views on language, violence and modern Iraq.
New Venue Highlights ‘Literary Potential of Dubai’
M. LYNX-QUALEY: The opening today of a new venue in Dubai which encourages artists and authors to meet is further evidence of the growing cultural scene in the city
The Pros and Cons of Arab World Literary Prizes
M. LYNX-QUALEY: There’s always bound to be heated debate about the merits of judging literature but the Arab world’s literary prizes attract particularly warm discussion.
Egyptian Artists vs Government: Is Conflict Inevitable?
ASMAA NAGUIB, ARABLIT: Many prominent Egyptian artists met recently to discuss how best to regulate the relationship between the Culture Ministry and themselves.
Writing About Torture: Mechanism of Resistance
MOHGA HASSIB, ARABLIT: There is a debate among writers about how to treat the subject of torture. The acclaimed Lebanese writer Elias Khoury has firm views
‘This Is Not A Time for Fiction’: Arab Novelists’ Crisis
M. LYNX-QUALEY: Ahdaf Soueif said it first but many of her peers agree that the tumultuous events wracking the Arab world leave fiction irrelevant.
The Arab World’s ‘Olympic Poets’: Who’d You Choose?
M. LYNX-QUALEY: Thanks goodness we no longer have the embarrassment of the Olympics ‘Art Competitions’ but the UK’s Guardian newspaper did some nice work.
The Politics Behind the Award of Literary Prizes
M. LYNX-QUALEY: Whether it’s the Nobel Prize or those closer to home there’s always a bit – or more – of politics when literary prizes are awarded.
