Recent Stories

Layla Baalbaki (1936-2023): Lebanese Writer Who Left a Revolutionary Storm in Modern Arab Feminist Novel at 22 Before Unexpected Adieu to Fiction Writing
 
After a long stay in London, Layla returned to Beirut in 2009  to sign her novels, “I Live” and “The Gods Deformed,” and her short story collection “Spaceship of Tenderness to the Moon,” which had been republished by Dar al-Adab, at the Beirut Book Fair. Surrounded by her books, Layla seemed as if she was still preserving her old magic and charm. She was Beirut’s “star” novelist during the 60s, especially after “Spaceship of Tenderness” was banned in 1964 on charges of immorality. She was arrested, tried, and won the case.

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A Meditation on the Fractured Self: Wajdi Mouawad’s Autobiographical ‘Mother’ Revives Memories of Relationships Fragmented by War

Retrospective Look at Mouawad’s ‘Most Lebanese’ Play in Wake of Recent Boycott Campaign in Lebanon
By Naomi Pham
 
From his award-winning play “Littoral” and its continuation, “Incendies,” Wajdi Mouawad frequently delivers compelling narratives surrounding family — whether it be a bereaved son navigating the complications of burying his father in his native, war-torn Lebanon like in “Littoral,” or in “Incendies,” where two siblings based in Montreal return at the request of their dead mother to their birthplace in the Middle East in search of a father and brother they’ve never met. Like a connective tissue between many of his creative works, it comes as little surprise that family also takes a focal point in his autobiographical theater series, in which war-consumed Lebanon is as much the setting as the Parisian apartment 10-year-old Mouawad’s family lived in for five years while waiting for the war’s end. “Mother,” which the director presented in 2021, echoes a diaspora that Antoine Gouki of Independent Arabia considers “Promethean torture,” and critic Alma Abu Samra in Al Akhbar writes very likely felt no different from the basement shelters with which Lebanese families living through the civil war were all-too-familiar.
Theatre

The Art of Conveying Joy: The Late Latifa Multaqa on the Human Connection Between Actor and Audience

By Naomi Pham


A pioneer of female directors in the history of modern Lebanese theater, Latifa Multaqa has guided generations of actors since Lebanon’s golden age of theater, embodying the art of theater as an actor, director, and teacher. Multaqa, 92, passed away on April 9, 2024, joining her husband and partner on stage, Antoine Multaqa, who left this world a few weeks prior. Since the 60s and 70s, the Multaqa duo have established their reputation as pillars of modern Lebanese theater, opening doors to experimental theater alongside fellow pioneers Muneer Abou Debs and Raymond Jebara. From the legal pulpit to the stage, Latifa Multaqa laid the groundwork for serious avant-garde theater, and in mentoring students even after she retired from teaching, played an invaluable role in fostering the growth of Lebanon’s theatrical talent for generations to come.

Essays and Features

Antoine Multaqa, Enduring Pillar of Lebanon’s Golden Age of Modern Theater, Exits the Stage

By Naomi Pham

While Arab theater sits at a crossroads amid questions about its path toward the future, another pillar of modern Arab theater exits the stage. Antoine Multaqa, 91, who passed away in his sleep on February 21, 2024, nurtured the development of experimental theater alongside his wife, fellow director and actor Latifa Multaqa (née Chamoun), during Beirut’s golden age of theater. In its current state, Arab theater stands a shadow of its former self, nowhere nearly as celebrated as it was during the 1960s and 1970s when Antoine Multaqa, Muneer Abou Debs, Raymond Jebara, and others ushered modernism to the Lebanese stage. Modern theater was the backbone of cultural life in Beirut. At a time when theater mainly depended on translated works, poets played active roles in writing and translating plays, bringing Western classics by Sophocles, Shakespeare, and Brecht to Arab audiences. Multaqa’s passing is a nostalgic reminder of Lebanon’s theatrical heyday and the dilemma it faces today, caught between modernity and postmodernity.

Essays and Features

From Humble Roots to Self-Made Star: Undefeated by Time, Cultural Icon Umm Kulthum Captivates Arab and Western Interest Half a Century After Her Death

By Naomi Pham


Although nearly 50 years have passed since her death, Egypt’s beloved diva, Umm Kulthum, has continued to captivate generations. One can still hear her alluring voice emanating from cafes and car radios in the streets of Egypt or find photographs from her famous performance at Paris’ L’Olympia Theater sold as merchandise. She has consistently remained in the spotlight long after her death, with new books and other artistic homages giving a retrospective of her life and career. 

Essays and Features

Hussein Madi (1938-2024): An Artist Whose Lifelong Embrace of Nature Created an Art That Will Endure

By Naomi Pham


In recent years, media reports have raised concerns over a worrying decline in the Arab cultural scene. Government restrictions on the media and artistic expression have taken a toll on art and cultural production across the Arab world, whether in literature or art. In Lebanon, where the ongoing liquidity crisis has continued unabated since 2019, discontent with the state and worsening economic conditions were intensified by the pandemic and the disastrous explosion of Beirut’s port in August 2020, a tragedy still fresh on the minds of many. The blast decimated large parts of Beirut’s arts and cultural neighborhoods, Gemmayzeh and Mar Mikhael, among several others. Its aftermath witnessed damage not only to galleries, museums, and historic architecture but also to livelihoods, leading many Lebanese artists to emigrate after the explosion. Small victories have risen since then as museums and galleries slowly recover. Still, critics worry about an artistic drought, especially after the recent passing of one of Lebanon’s renowned artists, Hussein Madi.

Essays and Features

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.

Brexit and Lebanon’s Economic Collapse Close the Chapter of London’s Iconic Saqi Bookshop

By 
Naomi Pham and Elie Chalala
For 44 years, Al Saqi Books has served as the beating heart of Arab culture for tourists, expatriates, and Arab readers in London — but after struggling to stay afloat amid a rocky economic climate both in the Middle East and at home in the United Kingdom, the independent bookstore recently announced its closure at the end of the month, just before the new year. Over the past decade, bookstores worldwide have been forced to shut their doors. Syria and Lebanon have faced closures due to economic and social crises (read more about the state of the Arab world’s publishing industry in Al Jadid, Vol. 25, Nos. 80-81, 2021 and Vol. 26, Nos. 82-83, 2022). The bookstore chain Borders was liquidated in 2011, and even Barnes & Noble has closed several of its locations. Independent bookstores have taken especially hard hits as the culture of reading shifts with technology, making it increasingly difficult to keep up with costs.
 

Ghassan al-Jibai (1952-2022)

Remembering A Courageous Writer: His Refusal of Censorship, of Exile, and of Silence
By 
Elie Chalala and Naomi Pham
 
The late Syrian writer Ghassan al-Jibai (1952-2022) was known for his intellectual activities across various art forms, from theater to novels and poetry — but though his craft came in many forms, each harnessed his steadfast opposition to tyranny and oppression. His career as a theater director, dramatist, and writer suffered immensely under the Syrian regime.

Once the Cinderella of the Arab Screen, Tragedy Overshadowed Layla Murad’s Life and Career

By 
Naomi Pham and Elie Chalala
 
A common methodology for Arab critics, journalists, historians, and academics in studying different cinema, music, and other art fields is to categorize them under “Golden” or “Classic” eras, which are defined based on a system of values, a code of behavior, or another classification, such as progressive or conservative. The downside of this method is that it may not allow for impartial analysis and may prevent a thorough understanding of the subject at hand.

Growing Dysfunction of Arab Societies Parallels Rise in Violence Against Women

By 
Naomi Pham and Elie Chalala

Gender-based violence is not a new phenomenon in the Arab world. Attacks against women have been on the rise for years. One might recall the attacks on female social media influencers in 2018, leading to the deaths of former Miss Baghdad Tara Fares, beauticians Rasha al-Hassan and Rafif al-Yasiri, and the human rights activist Suad al-Ali. In 2021, the gruesome death of Farah Hamza Akbar, a Kuwaiti mother killed in front of her children by her stalker, filled headlines with an outcry against the lack of protection for women. 

Looking at Reading Rates Beyond Bogus Statistics

Yes, Arabs Read! But How Much?
By 
Naomi Pham

As UNESCO celebrates World Book Day, many countries have turned their attention to not just books but also the reading rates of their citizens and how they compare globally. Many speculate that Arabs do not read as much as Europeans and North Americans. Time and time again, major publications and news outlets fill their headlines with the claim that Arab citizens read an average of only six minutes a year. This figure was cited in the early 2000s, attributed to the December 2011 4th Annual Cultural Development Report by the Arab Thought Foundation, which has yet to be published online. The number appeared in a TEDxRamallah panel in April 2011 by Fadi Ghandour, CEO of Aramex in Jordan, who claimed his source was UNESCO (UNESCO has denied ever publishing the statistic). According to Thana Atwi, a spokeswoman for the Arab Thought Foundation, the number was never meant to be read at face value but as a symbolic figure, as cited by Leah Cladwell on the website Hekmah. Regardless of right or wrong, one cannot deny that the reading rates in the Arab world are low, which may be why the erroneous “six-minute myth” has been repeated for over a decade and continues to be a statistic that many significant publications take seriously.

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