Arabic literature can be translated inasmuch as it has to be translated. Why? Because the reality Arabs encounter stretches beyond the Arab World, and thus does not fit the orderly context the Arabic language requires to keep on being as categorical as it has been for centuries.
The price a nation has to pay for boasting a language carved in stone is the cumbersomeness of its notions. But first, before Arabs face the Sphinx, they have to make sure they recognize both their mother tongue and their fatherland. We are just here to provide a space where they can shelve their paralysis by putting their stances into perspective.
Contemporary Arabic Literature, translated into English
Second prize holder of the “One Thousand Nights and Awakening” literary contest I didn’t know the bus was going to drive by Abbassiyyin Square. I had been trying to avoid the square for the past two years, but the elderly driver had decided to round it, heedless of the anguish it might cause passengers to […]
Finalist of the “Two Thousand Nights and Awakening” literary contest Idlib, a city located in the North of Syria, was once famous for its thriving ceramics and olive industries. However, since it got caught up in the maelstrom of war, it is constantly threatened by air strikes. The door stands ajar and through it a […]
Every month, they met to spend the night in the mountains. Nighttime in the red mountains was quiet and cold. They dreamed big—with their juicy encounters in harlequin settings—until spring drew to an end. She had set off to climb the mountain at a blistering pace, and once she arrived at its peak, she flashed […]
