Essays and Features

From Harem to Civil Society: The Journey of Fatima Mernissi

Yassin Adnan

Restoring Lebanon’s Former Glory from the Clutches of ‘Dante’s Hell’: The Key to the Future Lies in the Present, Not Past

By

Elie Chalala

Lebanon stands on the precipice of change with its election of a president independent of the corrupt old elite and the nomination of a reformist prime minister-designate. These tides of change usher in a new wave of enthusiasm and even optimistic euphoria among some, as expressed by many intellectuals, both Lebanese and Arab. The Algerian novelist Amin Zaoui stands out among some of these optimistic intellectuals, recalling Beirut’s ‘golden years’ of the 1950s, 1960s, and part of the 1970s.

‘About the Happiness of the Oppressed’:

As the Assad Regime’s Collapse Looms, Riham Essa Reflects on the Complex Emotions Among Syrians

By Elie Chalala

In a blog essay published in Al Modon newspaper, Syrian short story writer and author Riham Essa touches the surface of the complex emotions she, and perhaps other Syrians, have felt in the wake of the Assad regime’s fallout as the country contemplates its new beginning. Syria, she writes, “has never been a homeland, especially after 2011."

Essays and Features

Reality Check: A Newly Elected Administration Navigates Lebanon's Oligarchy to Address Reforms and Reconstruction

By

Elie Chalala

Lebanon has recently elected a president, and the immediate response might be, “So what?” On top of this, the parliament also chose its prime minister-designate. The difference between the level of news from Syria last month and Lebanon this month sounds almost incomparable. At least regarding Syria, the fact that Bashar al-Assad is no longer the country's leader while the incumbent has not yet been elected still maintains an element of surprise for the future.

In the Face of Syria’s Suffering, Basma al-Khatib Calls for Silence from the Bystanders and Naysayers

By Elie Chalala

“The least we can do at this critical historical moment is to respect the suffering of the Syrians (and the suffering of everyone who was tortured by the Syrian Baath regime, regardless of their nationality) and to remain silent for a while. To come to grips with all this suffering, pain, loss of reason, and torture, we perhaps need a long time,” writes Basma Al-Khatib, a Lebanese writer and novelist.

Essays and Features

Reflecting on Yara Nahle's 'In the Presence of Rubble'

By

Elie Chalala

Yara Nahle, a Lebanese writer, begins her blog with the image of the ‘angel of history,’ described by the German philosopher Walter Benjamin (1892-1940) as a figure who “sees only one catastrophe, a pile of rubble before his feet." For Benjamin, history is not a continuous progression toward the future but a pile of ruins accumulated by wars, conflicts, and disasters.

"Ruins" has more meaning for Benjamin than its literal definition, which combines rubb

Assad's New Front: When Words Become Weapons

Elie Chalala

In addition to being a prominent Syrian leftist with a significant presence in the revolution, Michel Kilo is also a great short story teller. His anecdotes are found not in novels, but in newspaper columns, which Kilo calls "Stories from the World of Ghosts." These stories are multi-dimensional: funny, ironic, tragic, real, and autobiographical. Ahmad, a character from "Stories from the World of the Ghosts," published in a column in Asharq Alawsat, has a gripping story. The story, I recall, featured Kilo himself in the same Al Maza prison as Ahmad. Even though it is painful to hear how unjustly Ahmad was treated, the circumstances that landed Ahmad in prison offer some comic relief.

A Baalbek-Native Artist Reflects on the ‘Air Monsters’ Threatening His Hometown

By

Al Jadid Staff

“Voices That Speak Over the Rubble: Intellectuals Reflect on Lebanon’s War From Above, Below, and Within,” a unique feature to be published in Al Jadid’s forthcoming annual edition (Vol. 28, No. 85, 2014), compiles the compelling, powerful, and heart-wrenching accounts of those directly experiencing the ruination caused by Israel’s war against Lebanon. Among the several stories are two articles by the artist and engineer Mohamed Charaf.

Algeria's Curtailing of Freedom of Expression Sparks Outcry from Critics, Intellectuals, and Politicians Following Author Boualem Sansal's Arrest

By Naomi Pham

The sudden arrest of award-winning Algerian-French author Boualem Sansal and the ensuing silence regarding his release have produced a global outcry, bringing literary, cultural, and political circles to the writer’s defense. Sansal becomes the second author to agitate Algeria’s political and literary scene in recent months, next to fellow Algerian-French writer Kamel Daoud, whose recent legal tangle over his Prix Goncourt-winning novel “Houris” remains ongoing. Both cases raise apprehensions among critics and writers over Algeria’s course toward further restrictions on freedoms, especially concerning criticisms of the country’s history amid current talks about Morocco’s autonomy proposal for Western Sahara.

Essays and Features

Kamel Daoud’s Goncourt-Winning ‘Houris’ Breaks the Silence on Algeria’s Black Decade

By

Elie Chalala

For countries sharing as complicated a relationship as France and Algeria, some might expect the recent awarding of France’s most prestigious literary prize, the Prix Goncourt, to an Algerian writer to be cause for celebration. Algerian-born writer Kamel Daoud emerged the winner of this year’s Goncourt with his third novel “Houris” (“Virgin” in English), securing six out of 10 votes from Académie members during the deliberation process.

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