This post is a place for collecting all the interesting projects I’ve found in the UK and Europe that showcase arts and culture from the Arab world. More to follow…
Having started to translate my first novel from Arabic to English, I’ve been inspired to make a post here about translation. It’s a science and an art–tedious, but also very satisfying when you feel that you’ve succeeded. Here’s a great article about translatability and the work of the translator. For Arabic-to-English translation, see the premier…
In this chilly winter season, here’s a list of Arabic shows and movies with something for everyone to enjoy… Justice | Netflix | UAE | Crime / Courtroom TV Show | about a young woman lawyer (I liked it!) Secret of the Nile | Egypt | Netflix | Mystery, Drama, Romance | a beautiful reinvention…
Image of Bayad playing his oud Music Some of my favorite contemporary Moroccan artists: Nass El Ghiwane – see Brownbook post Oum – see Brownbook post Nabyla Maan See here for a concert of psalms sung in Arabic, performed by Lebanese Catholic nun Sister Marie Keyrouz. Poetry and Oral Compositions…
In honor of Salma Khadra Jayyusi, who passed away earlier this year, I’d like to revisit Juha the famous trickster character. I was fortunate enough to study Arabic langugage and literature during the years when Jayyusi’s PROTA project was bringing many works to the attention of readers in English. One of these works is published…
Ghada Abdel Aal’s hilarious blog, عايزة أتجوز / I Want to Get Married was turned into a book, which has been translated into several languages. It was also adapted to an Egyptian musalsal / TV show. You can see it here. There are reviews of the book in The National here and on Muslimah Media…
With this bright new year of 2020, I’m sharing a few literary/artistic picks (two books and one music album) that were recently inspired by Conference of the Birds (منطق الطير), the allegorical poem by Farid al-Din Attar (lived in Nishapur c. 1145-c. 1221, in northeastern Iran). “Considered by Rumi to be ‘the master’ of Sufi…
