ESSAYS & FEATURES IN FORTHCOMING AL JADID, VOL. 24, NO. 79, 2020

A Nation in an Expanding Mental Ward: Is Lebanon Now Chekhov’s Ward No. Six?

Anton Chekhov’s internationally renowned “Ward No. 6” in 1892 arose from despair over Russia’s collapse into the hands of ignorant rulers, perhaps comparing the decrepit hospital of his story to the state of the country. Over a century later, his story strikes a fresh chord — now more than ever following the Beirut Blast on August 4 that turned large parts of the city to ruin. In a recent Independent Arabia article, Lebanese poet and critic Abdo Wazen went as far as to compare the tragedy to Chekhov’s “Ward No. 6,” where the corrupted and negligent staff of a provincial mental asylum bear a painful resemblance to Lebanon’s highest office holders.

Essays and Features

ESSAYS & FEATURES IN FORTHCOMING AL JADID, VOL. 24, NO. 79, 2020

Rifat Chadirji (1926-2020): Architect Who Integrated Traditional Iraqi And Modern Architectures, Then Turned to Life of Writer and Scholar
Iraq and the Arab world of avant-garde architecture has lost Rifat Chadirji, an architectural theorist, critic, and designer who played a pivotal role in the post-war modernization of Baghdad. He died due to coronavirus complications on April 10, 2020 in London at 93.
 
Like many Iraqi intellectuals, Chadirji suffered under the monarchy and Baathist dictatorship and was jailed twice before going into exile. His second arrest changed the course of his life, marking the end of his design career and his transition into theory and lecturing.
Essays and Features

Down to the Sea in Unsafe Ships: Lebanese Refugees Risk Death to Escape Hunger, Violence, Despair

By Al Jadid Staff

Many will recall the image of Alan Kurdi, the child whose death at sea became the icon of Syria’s agony when his photograph was spread across the world in 2015. Though his story is five years old, that awful photograph comes to mind these days as desperate Lebanese families follow the same path in a desperate attempt to flee the economic, political, and humanitarian storms which rule the day in their country. The recent deaths of many Lebanese, including two children on a smuggling boat headed for Cyprus, provides us with yet more heartbreaking details of the suffering of the Lebanese people.

Cultural Briefings

Beirut’s Chernobyl Moment: A Message of Love to a Suffering City, Its Unforgettable Memories, and Undying Heart

Perhaps the August 4th explosion is the most catastrophic in Lebanon’s modern history, but let us not forget that it follows other recent explosions – financial, social, economic, and even imminent starvation.

The latest explosion is disastrous by all accounts, leaving 350,000 homeless, more than 137 dead, 5000 injured, and a large number of people still unaccounted for. Office buildings and apartments across the capital are destroyed, as well as the country’s largest port, with reconstruction estimates ranging between 12 and 15 billion dollars at a time the government cannot even secure a two-billion-dollar emergency loan.

Cultural Briefings

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.

Jocelyne Saab: A Just Life

Filmmaker, Journalist, Photographer, Fighter for Justice Dies at 70
By 
Al Jadid Staff
 
Jocelyne Saab belonged to a generation of Lebanese filmmakers and artists, often described as progressive and leftist, that emerged before, during, and after the Lebanese Civil War. A contemporary of directors like Burhan Alawia, John Chamoun, Maroun Baghdadi, Nahla al-Shahal, young progressive directors of the time, Saab shared their commitment to social justice, basic reforms in the pre-1975 Lebanese political system, and a commitment to defending the rights of Palestinians both within Lebanon and supporting their struggle against Israeli occupation.

Leila Slimani: Demolishing Barriers with Literature and Francophone Values

By 
Naomi Pham

Beyond her award-winning novels, the public knows Moroccan-French novelist Leila Slimani for her advocacy of francophone values, promoting the French language, a culture of diversity and openness, as well as for her support for women’s rights. During the French presidential elections, Ms. Slimani  accompanied President Emmanuel Macron in his visit to Morocco, encouraging Moroccan-French citizens to vote for him against the right-wing and ethnocentric Marine Le Pen. According to press reports, the French President initially wanted to appoint Slimani as Minister of Culture, but she declined. So he appointed her as his personal representative of francophone affairs.

Nostalgia for a Lost Damascus Leads Native Son into Danger in New Thriller

In his latest novel, “Sophia,” Syrian-German author Rafik Schami takes readers on a journey from Beirut and Heidelberg to Rome and Damascus through the eyes of Salman, the son of Sophia, the novel’s namesake, who is a beautiful Christian woman who had recently left her Muslim lover, Karim, to marry Yusuf Baladi, a rich Damascene Christian goldsmith. The story follows Salman’s trail as he flees Syria to Lebanon after accidentally wounding a police officer in an armed revolt to topple the dictatorship.

Dystopic Trends in Modern Arabic Literature

In the first two decades of the 21st century, the Arabic literary scene has witnessed a new trend in fiction in the form of a dystopian narrative. Where Arabic research has mainly focused on Classic Western utopias as characterized by the writings of Thomas More, Tommaso Campanella, Samuel Butler, and 20th-century Western dystopian fiction, the rise of Arabic authors exploring the dystopian genre has caught the attention of Western readers. These new dystopian works by Arab authors have been defined as the start of a new literary genre in modern Arabic literature, written mostly in English or French, with any works written in Arabic quickly being translated into English, suggesting an interest and wish on the part of the authors and publishers for a presence in the Anglophone market.

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