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
We are born with two feet, one to sustain balance and the other to venture into the unknown. I yelled rather rowdily when entering this world, for I was being born not quite gently into a neighborhood of Baghdad that was just a little bigger than the size of a pea called Al-Anbariyin. I was […]
I woke up late and sweaty. The beast I had spent the whole night running from in my dreams had eventually caught up with me. I rubbed my joints and wetted my lips with my tongue. “Today is no ordinary day” I said to myself. I was meeting Louisa in the afternoon. She had promised […]
Winter invites the world to retreat under its blanket and pours its cold over the hilly countryside. The soil of the earth gives off the sweet perfume of its people’s hard work. In the valley, the humble adobe houses struggle to keep their secrets inside. Chaos breaks out when the only thing people can rely […]
The small city I call home lies on the Nile Delta. It’s a very peaceful place, where the wind’s moaning can be heard, and hence, everyone treasures silence. Most of its residents are either farmers or work at the local cotton ginneries. The city, which is the capital of a province that includes several villages […]
