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‘details stolen from the heavens’: Rich Anthology of Love Poems Spotlights New Generation of Anglophone Arab Writers

We Call to the Eye & the Night: Love Poems by Writers of Arab Heritage
Edited by Hala Alyan and Zeina Hashem Beck
Persea Books, 2023
 
Reading the two hundred poems in “We Call to the Eye & the Night” — an anthology that contains the work of 85 contemporary Anglophone poets of Arab heritage — gives the reader the sensation of gazing into a brilliant night sky, one that is both familiar and strange. Venus, whose association with the goddess of love animates this book, shines more brightly than usual, as sharply visible as the crescent moon. Some of the stars are familiar — such as Fady Joudah, Naomi Shihab Nye, Philip Metres, Mohja Kahf, Hayan Charara, Nathalie Handal, Glenn Shaheen, Hedy Habra, Lisa Suhair Majaj — while others have risen to join them in new constellations. Forty of the poets represented here were born in 1990 or afterward, including George Abraham (recently named editor of Mizna Journal), Leila Chatti (who teaches at Smith College), Mohammed El-Kurd (Palestine correspondent for The Nation), Noor Naga (who teaches at the American University in Cairo), Fargo Nissim Tbakhi (who teaches at Towson University), Jess Rizkallah (an author and illustrator), and Nadim Choufi (also a videographer and sculptor, as well as co-Programs Director at Beirut Art Center).

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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

An Ideological Odyssey Spanning Two Decades of Incarceration: How the Syrian ‘Mandela’ Riyadh al-Turk (1930-2024) Went from Stalinist Communism to Social Democracy

By Elie Chalala


In these times of unrest and turmoil, it comes as no surprise that the passing of who some called Syria’s beloved “Cousin,” the Syrian dissident Riyadh al-Turk, feels like a farewell to the last of a fleeting generation of Arab heroes. Titles such as the “Sheikh of the Syrian Opposition” and the “Mandela of Syria” just barely skim the surface of the oppositionist’s almost-mythological role in the struggle against tyranny throughout the last century. It is not just Riyadh al-Turk’s survival of torture, sacrifice, and solitary confinement throughout over two decades of political imprisonment under the Assad regime, father and son, that has made him a revered figure, but also his unbending will and devotion to his ideals. The Syrian opposition leader fiercely pushed for national democratic change and served as the secretary-general of the Syrian Communist Party’s Political Bureau branch, later renamed the Syrian Democratic People’s Party, from 1973-2005.

Essays and Features

Layla Baalbaki: The Last Existential Feminist

By Naomi Pham

Upon her passing, critics must reintroduce the late author, whose literary legacy was lost in the haze of time
 
Despite her reputation as one of the boldest Lebanese women writers at the peak of her career, Layla Baalbaki’s passing without much coverage on October 21, 2023, though delivering a shock throughout the Arab literary world, did not come as a surprise given the journalist and writer’s retreat from the spotlight since the 60s. Baalbaki was the first Lebanese woman tried in court for “outraging public decency” with her short story collection, “Spaceship of Tenderness to the Moon” (1963). The late writer’s life has been shrouded in mystery since she departed from literary fiction, even more so after her death. As many recall the impact of her works, others speculate on her short-lived literary career in equal fervor: why did Layla Baalbaki stop writing? Did she leave behind any notes or a memoir about her life before her passing? Without the woman herself to confirm or deny, any answers remain mere speculation.
Essays and Features

The Catcher in the Bulgur?

Coming of Age Story Witnesses Tribulations of Growing up Arab American in Brooklyn
By 
D.W. Aossey
Coming of age stories can be tricky. In no other genre do authors willingly stick out their necks, relying on a single, flawed adolescent to heroically carry the day. No clever plot twist can save our young protagonists if they’re not up to the task; no quirky sidekicks or kinky lovers can plaster over the holes. The vulnerability of a Holden Caulfield, the dimwitted charm of a Forrest Gump, or even the precocious morality of a Kevin Arnold was always destined to shine. And then we have Michael Haddad, the teenager at the center of “Arab Boy Delivered” by author Michael Aziz Zarou.
 
It’s the early 1960s. A Palestinian family takes over a neighborhood grocery store in an Italian part of Brooklyn, where working-class residents pop in and out for bread, milk, beer, and cigarettes. They’re mild to outright discriminatory against Arabs. “Camel jockey assholes, go back to the desert!” comes up more than once; vandalism and other mischief loom. The police have little help. Michael, the young son of old country proprietors Aziz and Jamila Haddad, searches his parent’s worried expressions and philosophizes. He listens to 60s music and goes through his coming-of-age routine, seeming more grown-up than he should be. He looks at himself in the mirror and thinks. 

Mona al-Saudi (1945-2022): The Sculptor Who Befriended Stone and Challenged Traditions

By 
Naomi Pham and Elie Chalala

Ensconced in her garden of stone and statues, Jordanian poet, artist, and sculptor Mona al-Saudi has always been connected to the earth around her. She spent her earliest years playing amidst the ruins of the Roman Nymphaeum near her home in Amman, enamored with the geometric forms. Staring at the towering structures, her mind wandered to the more existential questions of life from a young age. “I would leave my little friends to play with the statues, converse with them, contemplate their folds, and I felt that they were silent creatures full of life… These legendary archaeological sites gave me the feeling of man’s ability to create great works that remain for eternity. And that is how my dreams began,” she said, as cited by Ghazi Anayem in Thaqafat. This love of heritage and history followed her wherever she went, inspiring all her creations for years to come. She told Gulf News, “Our house was only three meters away, and when I opened the door of my house, I could step into the Nymphaeum, with its Roman baths, columns, and scattered sculptures all over. These were literally historical stones. And I used to play in these ruins. That is why I belong to this kind of era, which I feel endures.”

Multiple Pressures From State Repression, Fundamentalist Retribution, Cultural Critiques and Competition From Global Media Choking Off The Voice Of The Arab Intellectual

By 
Elie Chalala
Many definitions of Arab intellectuals are rooted in the idealistic tradition that glorifies them as guardians of values and ethics, as figures closer to “angels” and “faqihs,” who stand above politics and power struggles and enjoy a monopoly over the authority of knowledge. These notions reflect social illusions and popular perceptions of the time when intellectuals were considered part of a sacred class. A recurrent list of names often cited and idealized as intellectuals include Mahmoud Abbas al-Akkad, Taha Hussein, and Naguib Mahfouz. These perceptions clearly distinguish the intellectual from the politician.
 

The Wonders of a Village Childhood

By 
Lynne Rogers
 
Stories My Father Told Me: Memories of a Childhood in Syria and Lebanon
By Elia Zughaib and Helen Zughaib
Cune Press, 2020
 
“Stories My Father Told Me: Memories of a Childhood in Syria and Lebanon” is a delightful collection of short one-page stories told to Elia Zughaib by his father, accompanied by paintings by his daughter, Helen Zughaib.

A Book Fair Writes an Old Story: How a Poster — And Regional Politics — Sank Effort to Invigorate Lebanon’s Publishing Industry

By 
Elie Chalala

Book publishers, journalists, authors, and cultural activists received a large blow earlier this month. The anticipated return of the Beirut International and Arab Book Fair was met with disappointment and anger as violence broke out over Hezbollah’s presence through some publishing houses, which many argued overshadowed the spirit of the event. For over half a century, the book fair has held a celebrated place in Lebanon’s culture. Considered the oldest Arab fair, the tradition began in April 1956 at the American University of Beirut, becoming a prestigious event showcasing thousands of titles and visited by tens of thousands for decades since its launch. Not even ceasing during the Lebanese civil war, the only time the book fair was previously canceled was in December 2006 during the anti-government sit-ins in downtown Beirut. The outbreak of COVID-19 in March 2020, the explosion of Beirut’s port later that year, and the worsening economic crisis forced it to once again close its doors until the surprise announcement of its return, marking its 63rd session, running from March 3 to March 13.

The Tragedies and Political Realities of Aleppo’s Old Red Light District

By 
Naomi Pham and Elie Chalala
In a tale that spans generations, a recent novel shows the suffering of Syrian society through the abuse of sex workers and a struggle to make their smothered voices heard. Syrian novelist Ibtisam Ibrahim Tracy’s latest work, “Daughters of Lahlouha” (House of Culture for Publishing and Distribution, 2021), introduces readers to Syrian women suffering under both French mandate and Syrian regimes, social oppression, political tyranny, and the machinations of intelligence services over the past century. The novel was recently reviewed by Salman Zainuddin in Independent Arabia.
The corpse of the novelist Farida al-Raydah greets readers in the opening pages of the novel, crumpled in a chair with torn remnants of paper in her hands. On her computer lies an open, blank document entitled “Novel.” When a deliveryman named Abdel al-Salam discovers her, he searches through her belongings and finds the ready-to-publish manuscript of her novel discarded in the neighborhood trash bin.

Book Examines Lasting Legacy of Assassinated Cartoonist, Whose Work Drew on Experience of War and Exile

By 
Elie Chalala

A beloved artist in and beyond the Arab world, Palestinian political cartoonist and caricaturist Naji al-Ali's influence continues after 30 years after his death by assassination. Boualem Ramadani in the New Arab Diffah Supplement recently discovered a French book dedicated to al-Ali’s work, the first of its kind in France. Though published only in French, the book — "Le Livre de Handala" by Sivan Halevy and Muhammad al-Asaad, published by Scribest — includes important input from Naji al-Ali's eldest son, Khaled. He endeavored to preserve his father's legacy through the project. The book was first published in 2011 and received a new edition in 2015 with an updated preface from French political cartoonist Siné.

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