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.
Was ‘Girls of Riyadh’ Raja’s ‘Rooster’s Egg’?
AHMED AL OMRAN: Her book caused an inevitable furore when it first appeared. So why haven’t we heard more from Raja Al Sanea?
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.
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.
“Means of Suppressing Demonstrations”: Worth the Fuss?
MICHAEL FELSEN, CGNEWS: “Means of Suppressing Demonstrations” is a short story by 25-year old Israeli author Shani Boianjiu…
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.
The Long and Tortured History of Islamophobia
ALEX KANE, MONDOWEISS: Deepa Kumar has written a detailed study of Islamophobia which links it inextricably to the cause of Empire
So Then, Farewell Cairo: Let My Exile Begin
M. LYNX-QUALEY: It’s time to bid a sad adieu to my adopted home town. I hope to be back, though, soon.
Beaten But Unbowed: Syrian Author Writes On
M. LYNX-QUALEY: His hand was broken by thugs last week but celebrated novelist Khaled Khalifa continues his work
Do Books Matter in Contemporary Cairo?
M. LYNX-QUALEY: It may be Cairo’s oldest book market but heritage is no protector from increasing development
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.
‘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
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.
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
