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

‘Writing the Revolution’: Two Authors Reflect

‘Writing the Revolution’: Two Authors Reflect

JENNIFER SEARS, ARABLIT: Two leading novelists attending an event in New York reflect on the role of intellectuals on this year’s events.

 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

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Ramadan Reading: As Recommended by Mahfouz

Ramadan Reading: As Recommended by Mahfouz

M. LYNX-QUALEY: So what was on the Ramadan reading list of the great Naguib Mahfouz? A little of what you would expect and a few surprises.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

A Summer Tonic: Mahfouz’s Belief in ‘the Power of Good’

A Summer Tonic: Mahfouz’s Belief in ‘the Power of Good’

M. LYNX-QUALEY: While conducting some ‘centenary research’ I came across the lecture Mahfouz delivered when accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Let’s Hear It for the Poet with the Weird Accent

Let’s Hear It for the Poet with the Weird Accent

M. LYNX-QUALEY: Son of an acclaimed literary family, Tamim al-Barghouti’s ‘weird accent and non-Egyptian features’ seem to be a problem for some in Egypt…

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Aswany, IPAF, Translators: Daoud Takes Aim

Aswany, IPAF, Translators: Daoud Takes Aim

M. LYNX-QUALEY: In a wide-ranging discussion at the Shubbak festival Hassan Daoud, the Lebanese novelist and journalist, had much to say…

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Egypt’s Artists: ‘Bunch of Headless Chickens’?

Egypt’s Artists: ‘Bunch of Headless Chickens’?

M. LYNX-QUALEY: Egypt’s intellectuals are coming under increasing fire from their own …

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Three Books That WON’T Help You Understand Iraq

Three Books That WON’T Help You Understand Iraq

M. LYNX-QUALEY: It’s one of those lists again. You know it’s designed to gain a reaction and you can’t help yourself so here I go with my reaction to books on Iraq.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Arts to ‘Flourish’ in a Ghaddafi-Free Libya

Arts to ‘Flourish’ in a Ghaddafi-Free Libya

M. LYNX-QUALEY: ‘Censorship is good for literature’? This was a curious refrain from some East European writers. No way, look at Libya today.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

The Silence of the Poets – And That Includes You, Adonis

The Silence of the Poets – And That Includes You, Adonis

M.LYNX-QUALEY: Poets have traditionally held a central role in reflecting the life of Arabs. Is that role, however, being usurped by other, more modern means of communication?

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Censors ‘Making a Comeback’ in Tunisia and Egypt

Censors ‘Making a Comeback’ in Tunisia and Egypt

M. LYNX-QUALEY: Following a relatively brief lull in censorship activity in Tunisia and Egypt it appears they’re back in business again.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

Muslim-Coptic Relations: Five Books that Spell it Out

Muslim-Coptic Relations: Five Books that Spell it Out

M. LYNX-QUALEY: The pendulum between hope, denial and despair seems to be swinging ever quicker in Egypt. Literature however offers a longer view.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

The Arabic Novel: A New Form of Criticism Required?

The Arabic Novel: A New Form of Criticism Required?

M. LYNX-QUALEY: Is Naguib Mahfouz the ‘Arabic Balzac’, the ‘Arabic Zola’ or the ‘Arabic Thomas Mann’? Who cares? He wrote novels in a tradition that grew separately from European and American authors.

 M.-Lynx-Qualey

The Top 100 – and Five – Arabic Novels

The Top 100 – and Five – Arabic Novels

M. LYNX-QUALEY: The Arab Writers Union has listed the Top 100 Arabic novels. Puzzling, annoying, lists such as this are nevertheless fun.