Essays and Features

Nazik al-Malaika: Queen of Free Verse Remains Uncertain

Fifty Years of Debate Yield No Consensus Over Her Place on the Throne of New Arabic Poetry

By

Elie Chalala

Rarely do I open a cultural page in Arab newspapers, whether print or online, without catching wind of new discourse on modern poetry. Though I have never written poetry, the topic naturally draws my interest as an academic in political science, lecturing on debates between tradition and modernity for nearly a third of a century...Debates between traditional and new poetry shouldn’t be dismissed as simply Byzantine arguments. Such discourse indicates significant changes in the Arab world, including modernization and later globalization. Several critics have raised this discussion, the latest of which was in a column by Aref al-Saadi in Asharq Al Awsat, who writes, “I say this based on a slow study of our contemporary poetry and its trends, and I say it because it is the logical result of our willingness to read European literature and study the latest theories in philosophy, art, and psychology. In reality, those who want to combine modern culture with ancient traditions of poetry are like those living today in the clothes of the first century of immigration.” According to Saadi, there are two alternatives to discussing modernity and tradition: “Either we learn the theories, are influenced by them, and apply them, or we do not learn them at all. It may be useful for us to remember that the development in the arts and literature in a given era arises from the meeting of two or more nations.” Closed nations don’t produce anything new but merely repeat what their ancestors did.

Arab American Literature Pioneers Incorporating Modernism and Reason: How Later Generations Reduced a Dynamic Legacy to Mere Genealogy (2-4)

By Elie Chalala

The pioneering Mahjar writing of first-wave Arab American literature has fascinated those in the diaspora community and their homelands for over a century. Modernist characteristics of this literature contributed to its fascination, as it developed earlier than modernism in Arabic literature.

The Mahjar modernist movement emerged in the early 20th century, rooted in romanticism and spiritual philosophy. Arab American poetry diverged from Arab poetry dramatically in form and theme, characterized by simple language, freedom from tradition in rhyme and meter, and the abandonment of stereotypes. This modernist literature was, in some ways, an antecedent to its Arab counterparts. Fascinatingly, while Arab literature did not embrace modernism until the late interwar period, members of the Arab American intellectual community readily adopted the literary movement.

Essays and Features

A Fresh Look at the Debate: Definitions and Historiography of Arab Americans in the New Century

1-4

By

Elie Chalala

Arab American literature and how we define it remains central to the field’s discourse. Some scholars believe prior knowledge of Arab culture is essential to comprehending Arab American literature since it is an ethnic genre. Since the 20th century until the present, Arab Americans have strongly lobbied to classify Arab American studies as an ethnic field and draw a line between Middle East studies — which belongs to the area studies — and ethnic studies.

Haidar Haidar, 1936-2023: Author Who Shunned Spotlight and For Whom Writing Was Truly Its Own Reward

By Elie Chalala

As a young man, Syrian author and novelist Haidar Haidar had been silently involved in political events in his country. Like many Arab and Syrian intellectuals, he participated in the Algerian Arabization process, volunteering to teach the Arabic language in Algeria. His works have been translated into German, English, French, and Italian and remain read in the Arab world, achieving various success. His novel, “The Leopard,” was adapted into a movie directed by the late prominent director Nabil Al-Maleh, winning many awards in international festivals. He often explored his connection to nature in his writing, touching on the relationship between hunter and prey and his own reflections as a novelist and hunter.

Essays and Features

Preserving Arab History, Civilization Requires Arabic Books on "Shelves of the World Library"

Salma Khadra Jayyusi

Repentance

Mikhail Naimy

“Say blessed is life.”

“Blessed is life. What next?”

“Do you remember how often you have dissuaded me from hunting?”

“I do. Hopefully, you have finally listened to me.”

Abu Marwan has a reputation as a swift hunter. He is past 40, with a cheerful face, sleepy eyes, and a pleasing smile. A witty and lively man, he is famed for being honest, generous, soft-spoken, and kind-hearted. People tell amusing tales about his compassion for animals: when his cat broke her leg, he nearly disowned his family because they suggested throwing her in the river. Instead, he devoted much time to her needs until her foot healed. When one of his hens became blind, he built a special coop, fed her with his hands, brought her the fresh grass she liked, and cleaned her nest. He would not eat her meat and buried her with reverence and dignity when she died. Rumor suggests he cried over her grave.

The Fear of Throats

Daoud al-Shiryan

Hamad is an elderly Syrian man and a devout Muslim, who has lived in the city of Hama since he was born. Each day, he wakes up early, heads toward the Orontes River (Al Assi River), washes up and performs dawn prayers in a mosque on his way to work. On Sunday, July 3, as usual, Hamad headed toward the Orontes. As soon as he finished washing, though, he saw a body floating on the water. Upon closer inspection, he realized that the body belonged to a young man whom he recognized as Ibrahim Kashoush. Only the previous day, he had watched Kashoush electrifying the masses in the Orontes Square with his chants. Who would kill a young man singing for freedom? Hamad asked himself.

Lebanese 'Rejectionist' Media: a Disgraceful Institution

Elie Chalala

The Arab and Lebanese Left: From Political Economy to Islamophobia?

Elie Chalala

The Imperialism of Indifference: From Colonial Voice to Reliable News Source Trusted by Generations, the BBC Closes its Iconic Arabic Radio After 85 Years

By

Elie Chalala

The demise of BBC Arabic closes a chapter in modern Arab history. This is not a romantic or idealistic lamentation. Any Arab student or scholar who lived through or part of the post-WWI era of the 20th century can easily recognize the association between BBC Arabic and major political events. The question becomes not who are the writers of history — it is a history written by the literate or middle classes as opposed to a popular history. How can scholars tell that BBC Arabic was part of the lives of the groups who have written about the contemporary history of the Arab world? We rely on two indicators: literacy and politicization. When I use the term history, I believe that most if not all those who wrote on the political history of the Arab world came from literate classes and were part of groups ‌that cared for and even were engaged in politics. Those included pan-Arabists of the radical schools such as Nasserites and Bathists, conservatives, Islamists, and those moderate liberals opposed to socialists and communist groups.

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