Here’s a sneak peak from my new translation I have coming out this December. The following two excerpts introduce the three main characters in this social comedy / drama…
Excerpt 1 Captain Murad’s house was crammed full of antique furniture and relics, like the Egyptian Museum. As Hazim’s eyes roamed the villa, he felt like retching, for nothing irritated him like extravagant taste and flamboyant designs. It seemed to him that the captain had flung gold at his floor as if that would give it value, but the gold was lost amid the junk, dust, and massive furniture that devoured everything like dinosaurs.
Happy Labor Day (in the U.S.) !
My favorite labor day quote, by philosopher Olfa Youssef of Tunisia from here (my translation) :
“It’s not so important for workers to have a holiday. The important thing is for work to be more like a holiday. That won’t happen until humans stop exploiting other humans. You can’t expect someone to be happy when they’re working to exhaustion for less than a living wage.
Egypt has prioritized its film industry more than any other Arab nation, and it shows in the quantity and quality of its output. (It also shows in the predominance of Egyptian Arabic throughout Arabic media internationally.) The following films stand out to me for their entertainment value and also for their intellectual contribution to social and cultural studies. They are also available with English subtitles.
Terrorism & BBQ was the first Arabic film I ever saw; I was studying Arabic at Emory University.
For English speakers beginning to learn Arabic, the most popular and most effective book is Alif Baa by Brustad, Al-Batal, and Al-Tonsi. Based on the order of its vocabulary, here are some materials that I like to use for providing cultural input in Arabic class:
Unit One Salam‘alikum by Jil Jilala from here Unit Three Kifak ya inta by Feirouz from here To be continued…
Image:
Alice Walker speaks in the occupied
West Bank city of Ramallah. Lazar Simeonov TEDxRamallah
Because I have studied Arabic for a long time, people sometimes ask me for my analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I usually let others steer the conversation, not because I have no ideas or opinions, but because sometimes I have little to say. I recently read Alice Walker’s book The Cushion in the Road (2013).
Image:
Alice Walker speaks in the occupied
West Bank city of Ramallah. Lazar Simeonov TEDxRamallah
Because I have studied Arabic for a long time, people sometimes ask me for my analysis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I usually let others steer the conversation, not because I have no ideas or opinions, but because sometimes I have little to say. I recently read Alice Walker’s book The Cushion in the Road (2013).
Here are some sources that I can recommend that relate to Jews in the Arab World:
Medieval Middle East Norman Stillman’s source book is excellent, especially for those seeking an overview of the earliest records regarding Jews and the spread of Arabic culture (from the 7th to 19th century). It gives access to primary sources in English translation, and is very balanced in its representation of societies.
Shlomo Dov Goitein’s work is magnificent in adding to historical scholarship on the Mediterranean.
This is a list of recommendations for people (especially Americans) who want to educate themselves about the history and politics of Israel-Palestine.
Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s book, Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid, which raised controversy for his description of the situation as apartheid.
Classic Fateful Triangle by Noam Chomsky. It can be dense due to so much detail, but if you want lots of facts, this one’s for you. For a summary, see A Synopsis of the Israel/Palestine Conflict.
I just learned of Zahra Lari, an accomplished young figure skater of the UAE:
Beautiful!
This could be a great “culture” video in an Arabic class. In fact, I learned of the video from Laila Familiar’s site where she collects videos for Arabic.
I’m opening a space here for connections to more information about languages and cultures that neighbor Arabic: Persian, Turkish, and Hebrew to start. Feel free to send me any recommendations!
For Persian culture / art / history, see Caroline Mawer’s blog. For literature in translation, Words without Borders (July 2013) has an issue dedicated to literature post-(1979) revolution.
