ART BOOK REVIEW IN FORTHCOMING AL JADID, VOL. 23, NO. 77, 2019

Exhibition Celebrates Syrian Women Artists as ‘Female Fighters’!
By Al Jadid Staff

The Atassi Foundation’s recent exhibition, “Personal Revolutions: Women Artists from Syria,” prompts a much-needed discussion on the work of female Syrian artists. Running from March to April earlier this year, the exhibition celebrated Syrian women artists as “female fighters” who create their own revolutions. Mouna Atassi, the founder of Atassi Foundation, begins the exhibition’s catalog with an illuminating message, calling for “An Eye on the Past and an Eye on the Present.”

Books

Drawing Conclusions: Shedding a Vital Light on Middle Eastern Art

By D.W. Aossey

Amid so much hubbub and controversy surrounding the politics of the Middle East, one might think that the region’s visual arts are uncultivated, and the role that Middle Eastern artists play in the broader world negligible. But a new book, “Art of the Middle East: Modern and Contemporary Art of the Arab World and Iran” by Saeb Eigner, rectifies any such misconception and brings the significant contributions of contemporary Arab and Iranian artists to the forefront.

Books

No Way Home: A Tale of Syrian Immigration, Intrigue, Romance and Persecution

By Fawaz Azem

In his latest novel, “Sophia,” the Syrian-German ‘hakawati’ Rafik Schami returns yet again to the well of modern Syria, mining it for tales of romance and intrigue. The “Sophia” of the title, a willful, beautiful, Christian woman, jilts her Muslim lover, Karim, in favor of marrying a rich Damascene Christian goldsmith, Yusuf Baladi. Sophia’s son, Salman, proves the real hero of the novel, the eponymous title notwithstanding. Having fled Syria to Lebanon, he seeks shelter with his aunt Amalia, whose family ostracized her for having married a Protestant.

Books

From Al Jadid Archives

Musical Legacy of Abdul-Halim Hafez Revisited, 42 Years After His Death
By Sami Asmar

The most popular male Arab singer of all time – Abdul-Halim Hafez – rose from poverty to become a friend of kings. He lived for his art and died too soon. Loved and admired by people of all ages, the “Egyptian Elvis,” left his mark on Arabic music for future generations.

Music Dance

The Sexual Unconscious of the Arab Revolutions

By Pamela Nice

This academic work explores both the symbolic statements and lived experience of Arab women who transgress social norms, whether intentionally or unintentionally. The collection of essays by and about contemporary Arab women in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Sudan, Palestine, Egypt, the Maghreb, and the United States recounts the particular ways in which each woman transgressed and how she reacted to the response it provoked. The strongest chapters break free from the bonds of academic jargon and present women in their full flesh-and-blood selves, often suffering greatly for their brave actions, sometimes with bodily manifestations.

Books

For a Friend Sorely Missed

Moayyad al-Rawi (1939-2015)
By 
Elie Chalala


This brief column can only begin to do justice to Iraqi poet and critic Moayyad al-Rawi. A longer tribute will appear in Al Jadid’s next issue later this year (Vol. 23, No. 77, 2019).

Moayyad, who died in 2015, fled the Iraqi dictatorship in 1970 for Lebanon, making it his first stop in a life in exile; it is there I met him. Imprisonment and repression following the 1963 Baathist coup forced him to leave Baghdad and Kirkuk, which he loved, and which figured prominently in his writings.

Ali al-Shawk in the Eyes of One Acquaintance

By 
Mahmoud Saeed


Ali al-Shawk’s death leaves an empty space that no one can fill. He was prolific, thoughtful, articulate, and of high manners. Personally, I thought of him as one of the most cultured intellectuals I have met inside or outside of Iraq. His cultural depth owed to the greatness and diversity of his reading, which included his fluent command of English, from which he translated several books.

‘Sexuality in the Arab World’: Book Attempts to Shed Multi-Faceted Light on Subject Long in the Shadows

Forthcoming in Al Jadid
By 
Al Jadid Staff


“Sexuality in the Arab World” has fascinated many Western scholars, though not as many Arabs, mainly for political and cultural reasons. Edited by Samir Khalaf and John Gagnon, this book first appeared in English in 2005 and then was published in Arabic by Dar al-Saqi in 2015, translated by Osama Manzalji. Novelist and critic Mahmoud Houjeiri has reviewed this book in Arabic, a review that offers an Arab perspective which is worthy of sharing and translating. 

Mustafa Khalifa’s ‘The Shell’ Latest Example of Literature Offering Insight of Syrian Ordeal

Forthcoming in Al Jadid
By 
Al Jadid Staff


A mere glance at the most notorious prisons in the world, Assad’s Tadmur moves to the forefront, ranking 2nd on a list of the 10 worst prisons. This is the prison which “hosted” Mustafa Khalifa, the author of “The Shell” for more than 13 years, and which Fawaz Azem reviews for the next issue of Al Jadid.

Prolific in Exile: An Appreciation of the Life and Work of Ali al-Shawk

Forthcoming in Al Jadid
By 
Al Jadid Staff

A prolific author and reader, Ali al-Shawk embodied scholarship, transforming himself into a veritable encyclopedia of intellectual knowledge. His humility endeared him to his friends and set a worthy example for others. He remains particularly known for being a good listener and for his non-confrontational ways, listening “to you until you finished talking before offering his own opinion,” according to Mahmoud Saeed. His writings encompassed the topics of mathematics, music, painting, literature, etymology, mythology, and science, and he wrote continuously until his death in his London home this year.

New Book Places Famed 20th Century Lebanese Beauty and Unappreciated Intellectual May Ziadeh at Center of Controversy Now as Then

Forthcoming in Al Jadid
By 
Elie Chalala

Twenty-years ago, Al Jadid published “The Victim Of Beauty: Reviving the Literary Legacy of Mai Ziadeh” by Ghada Samman. The issue we tackled then was how Ziadeh's talents and skills were overlooked because of her gender, and even worse, how highlighting her personal life at the expense of her intellect distorted her legacy. One Lebanese critic was emotionally overwhelmed by the recent book, “May: The Nights of Isis Copia” (Dar al-Adab, 2018) by Waciny Laredj, expressing her appreciation for this kind gesture by the Algerian-French novelist and academic toward a fellow “Lebanese.” However, an Egyptian critic takes issue with the new book. The same concerns which fueled early criticism of how Ziadeh was treated did not escape the notice of Sharif al-Shafei's thoughtful essay in Al Modon newspaper.  

May Menassa (1939-2019): Journalist, Novelist Wrote in the Black Ink of War and Tragedy

Forthcoming in Al Jadid
By 
Al Jadid Staff


The Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990) spurred the production of a vast literature. Yet only a small fraction of these books, novelsand memoirs are available in English. An even smaller portion received wide attention through reviews or publicity campaigns. This leaves a void in the English language about the literature of this war. This essay highlights one novelist’s contributions in the Arabic literature of the war as well as a brief glimpse into her life.

Pages