Most recent articles by Marcia Lynx Qualey
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Arabic Europe
The writers fated to "represent"
There is a common expectation that writers with non-European origins will supply a literary representation of their birth culture. But many of them find themselves adrift between two cultural entities. Is it merely a question of focusing on one at the expense of the other? Marcia Lynx Qualey met the "Arabic Europe" authors featured at this year's Shubbak Festival in London
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Amjad Nasser on the role of Arab writers in Arab society
Speaking out in societies without words
In the last four years, Arab public intellectuals have come in for much close scrutiny and criticism. Some people complain that Arab thinkers and writers have disappeared from political life, while others argue that most of them are too much in the public eye, having allied themselves with one dictator or another. Marcia Lynx Qualey spoke to Jordanian poet and journalist Amjad Nasser about the role of Arab writers in contemporary Arab society
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Najwa Barakat on Arabic literature
Combating the desertification of Arab culture
Lebanese writer Najwa Barakat has written six novels since 1986. Over the past ten years, her work has been garnering increased critical acclaim. However, instead of resting on her laurels and focusing solely on her own work, Barakat is reaching out to young writers across the region, acting as a guide and organising workshops for emerging writers. Marcia Lynx-Qualey spoke to her about her work
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Crowdfunding for translations of Arabic literature
A new way to reach a wider readership
The "A Bird is not a Stone" crowdfunding campaign may not have gotten as much press as British scientists seeking to fund a moon landing through online donations, but it certainly made a ripple among Arabic literary translators. The success of this campaign showed that crowdfunding can be an important tool in bringing Arabic literature into European languages. By Marcia Lynx Qualey
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Book review: Tawfiq al-Hakim's "The Revolt of the Young"
A revolutionary manual for older generations
Tawfiq al-Hakim's "The Revolt of the Young" was originally published in 1984. Published in English translation in 2014, this 30-year-old collection of essays seems as relevant to the problems facing Egypt's youth today as it did when it was first published. According to Marcia Lynx Qualey, however, the book is even more relevant to older generations as it encourages them to try and understand and sympathise with the aims of their children
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Art and revolution in the Arab world in 2015
Struggling against the restoration of "order"
Egypt's Al-Fann Midan (Art is a Public Square) festival, which took place for the first time in April 2011, was one of the most vibrant post-revolutionary spaces for public art in Egypt. But four years after millions of Egyptians took to the streets, the popular festival has disappeared. Marcia Lynx Qualey takes a closer look at the link between art and revolution in Egypt and the Arab world in 2015
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Egypt's literati
Shifting sands, choosing sides
In the West, where Egyptian authors have long been seen as forces for good, the reaction to the fact that some of the country's most renowned writers seem to have abandoned the struggle for immediate democracy and the rule of law in favour of supporting military rule has been greeted with shock and dismay. Marcia Lynx Qualey explores the possible reasons for this development
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Book review: Jabbour Douaihy's "June Rain"
A "whodunit" without the "who"
A "whodunit" without the "who"? What sounds like a recipe for disappointment for the reader is, according to Marcia Lynx Qualey, an important and a delightful book and certainly not the first contemporary Lebanese novel to take this approach
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Women and the International Prize for Arabic Fiction
How many women does it take to win the IPAF?
The International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) was launched in 2007. Since then, only one woman has won the prize. Over the course of the past eight years, there has been much debate about the appearance (or not) of women on the long- and shortlists for the prize. Marcia Lynx Qualey looks back on the history of women and the IPAF
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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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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