Arabic language
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Obituary: Lebanese poet Ounsi el-Hage
One of the founders of Arab surrealism
Last month, the Lebanese poet Ounsi el-Hage died at the age of 77. Alongside Adonis and Mahmoud Darwish, he was one of the pioneers of modern Arabic poetry. An obituary by Suleman Taufiq
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Recreating Palestine in Literature
A Nation Crafted From Words
"We have a country made of words", reads a famous poem by the Palestinian writer Mahmud Darwish. In his essay, the well-known Jordanian journalist and literary scholar Fakhri Saleh explores the effect that the loss of homeland has had on Palestinian literature and self-perception
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Jurji Zaidan's Arabic Historical Novels
Educating and Entertaining the Public
By writing historical novels, Jurji Zaidan wanted to provide the common Arabic people with an accurate sense of their own history in an accessible, entertaining way. His novels were unavailable in English for nearly a century. But now, in the last two years, six English translations have appeared. Marcia Lynx Qualey
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The Arab Hip-Hop Sampler ''Khat Thaleth''
Looking for a Third Way
The hip-hop sampler Khat Thaleth is a compilation of the work of artists from across the Arab world. Contrary to what one might expect, although they rap about the revolution, they do not necessarily take the side of the rebels. Jannis Hagmann reports
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Interview with Iraqi author Hadiya Hussein
''I feel closer to my country when I'm away''
Iraqi author Hadiya Hussein has been away from Iraq for more than a dozen years, yet her fiction is still filled with its concerns. Her 2004 novel "Beyond Love", recently published in English translation, is full of exile, separation, and love. Hussein talked with Marcia Lynx Qualey about home, memory, and how living outside the country affects her writing
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Interview with Filmmaker Lina al-Abed
''I Believe in the Syrian People''
Lina al-Abed is a journalist and filmmaker who left her home in Damascus, Syria, to start a career in Beirut, Lebanon. In this interview with Irmgard Berner, she talks about women in the Arab film business and how the Syrian revolution has already in some ways liberated Syrians
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Interview with Youssef Ziedan
Revolution Means Breaking with Authority
Youssef Ziedan is a bestselling Egyptian author, philosopher and scholar of history. He is also director of the Manuscript Division of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the New Library of Alexandria. In this interview with Susanne Schanda, he says that being revolutionary is also about asking questions of authority
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Interview with Etel Adnan
''I React to What is Happening in the World''
Etel Adnan, the grand dame of Middle Eastern literature, is the epitome of cosmopolitanism: throughout her life, she has oscillated between one country, one language, and one genre and another. dOCUMENTA (13) dedicated an entire retrospective to this exceptional poet, writer, and painter. Vera Kern travelled to Kassel to meet the 87-year-old
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Arab World
No Arab Spring in Education
Many of the people taking to the streets in revolt movements in the Arab World are young college graduates. Although they are often better educated than their parents, their chances of finding a job are scant. Loay Mudhoon reports
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Elias Khoury's Novel ''Yalo''
The Word and the War
More than twenty years after the end of Lebanon's civil war, the conflicting parties can still not agree on a single narrative of events. With "Yalo", Elias Khoury has written a magnificent novel on the Lebanese struggles for history. By Sonja Hegasy
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Youssef Ziedan's Novel ''Azazeel''
In Case of Doubt, Choose Doubt
Youssef Ziedan's "Azazeel" was awarded the renowned Arab Booker Prize in 2009. Our reviewer Andreas Pflitsch says that this historical novel is a plea against religiously motivated violence
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Mansoura ez-Eldin's ''Beyond Paradise''
Dark Family Secrets on the Nile
A book by the Egyptian writer Mansoura ez-Eldin has been published in German for the first time. In it, the novelist relates a family saga set in the landscape of the Nile Delta. But as a work that first appeared in pre-revolutionary 2009, does it have any relevance now? Axel von Ernst finds out