As I talk with people about my current translation project, more and more people want to know about Arabic epics. These epics (Arabic: سيرة / sira) are long adventure tales that recount the exploits of a group of heroic characters and villains. Siras draw on historical events, although they are not to be considered conventional…
Some Favorite Quotations in Arabic Literature On art, literature, and writing Horses, night, and the desert know me And the sword, the spear, paper, and the pen – a famous line of poetry by the poet Al-Mutanabbi (known for his bragging!) from 10th century Baghdad On education What I want is knowledge of how things…
Melanie A. Magidow Receives NEA Literature Translation Fellowship Fellowship will support the translation into English of The Adventures of Dhat al-Himma (the Arabic epic Sirat al-amira Dhat al-Himma) Washington, DC — Today, the National Endowment for the Arts announced that Melanie Magidow has been recommended for an NEA Literature Translation Fellowship of $12,500. Magidow…
I have a new translated short story online at K1N here ! The author, Somaya Ramadan, and I discussed its publication ages ago. It’s nice to have it see the light of day at last. This story comes from a fun volume titled Qalat al-Rawiya / قالت الراوية / What She Said, which consists of…
I’m writing in response to mlynxqualey’s recent post. She provides some great suggestions, and I just wanted to add my two cents: Classical Poetry: Marcia limits her list to only materials that are free and available online. I agree with her recommendations of Khalidi’s translations of Al-Buhturi’s “The Poet and the Wolf” and Al-Ma‘arri’s “A…
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…
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… London Mosaic Rooms Algerian Coffee Stores Arab British Centre Nour Festival of Arts (annual) Paris L’Institut du monde arabe Arabic Bookstore La Librairie Avicenne (Near Metro…
Check out this interview with German scholar Angelika Neuwirth on enlightenment in Arabic and Islamic cultures ! Some highlights: On Enlightenment: “The claim that Islam lacks an Enlightenment is an age-old cliché. Pride in the Enlightenment–even though this pride has died down somewhat–continues to lead people to believe that Western Culture is way ahead…
My academic training is in Arabic literature. By literature, I don’t mean written materials alone. I mean instead the manipulation of language in all of its various forms (whether stories, poems, rhymes, etc.) to reach an audience–expressing feelings, communicating experiences, asking questions, offering advice, and so on. When I first studied in Morocco, I had to…
بتحكي عربي؟ بتحب الادب؟ عندنا فرصة لمناقشة الادب(العربي خاصةً) بالعربي بأي نوع (المصري، الشامي، المغربي، إلخ..) مرة كل اسبوع يوم الأحد 3:30 – 4:30 مساءً (Eastern Standard Time) على Google Hangouts اتصل بي للمشاركة احنا بنقرى “الساق على الساق” للشدياق حالياً
