A poem for spring–for thawing out, for growth, for warmth, for vacation. My husband and I recently learned that we are expecting a son in the fall. Facing the prospect of motherhood is complex for me: I don’t picture myself as a mother yet. Aren’t parents all grown up? This poem does a nice job, I think, of reminding all of us of our inner children, our childlike nature, perhaps our best selves…
Source for English text: This Same Sky poetry collection by Naomi Shihab Nye
One touch of nature makes the whole world kin. – William Shakespeare This past year, like the quote above, made the whole world kin in terms of our common experience of hardship. In the United States, the pandemic period has included movement toward and away from inclusivity of diversity. As the number of vaccines increases and…
Mortal Designs has been nominated for the Saif Ghobash Banipal Prize for Arabic Literary Translation! More details here. See review of the book here. “…couldn’t put the book down. I felt richly immersed in a culture and atmosphere I barely know. The characters are so alive! I love how you left some words untranslated and…
Have you ever heard a poem performed live in such a way that it captured your whole attention? There are tons of amazing poetry performances in Arabic, both spoken and sung. Al-Ta’shira This is my all-time favorite spoken poem performance. Sorry, I don’t have time to translate it now…maybe later! The poet is Hesham El…
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…
A few months ago, I picked up Black Water Rising (2009, 1st in the Jay Porter series by Attica Locke) and I was plunged into a world of daily struggle–the struggle to survive, to stay true to one’s principles, to take care of one’s family–often against the odds. I don’t find myself in the perspective…
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…