"Beauty At First Sight" Skyline of Doha The year 2005, when I set foot in Qatar, was a turning point in my life. That was the moment I saw the beautiful architecture that saturated my soul and nourished my ideas at the College of Architecture. I have not forgotten when I went with my husband … Continue reading #QATARILITMONTH: Skyscrapers and Artificial Islands in Qatar
#QATARILITMONTH:Souk Waqif
Souk Waqif: Once Upon a Time Maher Atter- Photographer Mohamed Ali Abdullah- Text and Drawings Souk Waqif: Where past and present reside side-by-side A walk through the labyrinth-like passageways of Souk Waqif in Doha, Qatar tantalizes all of your senses. Careening through the passageways at each turn there is a new smell. The pungent smell of the fresh spices, the … Continue reading #QATARILITMONTH:Souk Waqif
#Black Is Beautiful: Past and Present
Black Is Beautiful In the late 1950s and throughout the 1960s, Barbadian-heritage Kwame Brathwaite used his photography to popularize the political slogan “Black Is Beautiful.” This monograph―the first ever dedicated to Brathwaite’s remarkable career―tells the story of a key, but under-recognized, figure of the second Harlem Renaissance.Inspired by the writings of activist and black nationalist … Continue reading #Black Is Beautiful: Past and Present
#BlackIsBeautiful: Sapeurs, Sapeuses, and Dandies
Sapeurs: Ladies and Gentlemen of the Congo British photographer Tariq Zaidi presents a fashion subculture of Kinshasa & Brazzaville: La Sape, Société des Ambianceurs et des Personnes Élégantes ("Society of Ambiance-Makers and Elegant People"). Its followers are known as »Sapeurs« (»Sapeuses« for women). Most have ordinary day jobs as taxi-drivers, tailors and gardeners, but as soon as … Continue reading #BlackIsBeautiful: Sapeurs, Sapeuses, and Dandies
#BlackIsBeautiful Glory: Magical Visions of Black Beauty
“Beauty is in the eye of the Beholder” Clichéd but true, this month’s theme emphasizing the physical beauty of Black people underlines this saying. What better way to pay homage to the diverse beauty of Black people than through photography? This lovely coffee table book beautifully illuminates Black beauty as viewed through the camera lens … Continue reading #BlackIsBeautiful Glory: Magical Visions of Black Beauty
A Month of Turkish Literature via Global Literature in Libraries Initiative
https://www.ted.com/talks/ann_morgan_my_year_reading_a_book_from_every_country_in_the_world By Karen Van Drie, Editor of Turkish Literature Month for Global Literature in Libraries Like a lot of people who love to read, I was captivated by Ann Morgan's reading innovation of reading a book from every country in the world. What a cool idea! Short of visiting every nation in the world, how … Continue reading A Month of Turkish Literature via Global Literature in Libraries Initiative
Six Titles on the Kurdish Experience in Turkey
By Burhan Sönmez Board Member, PEN International Mountain Language by Harold Pinter was first performed at the Royal National Theatre in London in 1988. It was a play written three years after Pinter’s visit to Turkey for observing the consequences of a military coup in the country. When he, with Arthur Miller, on behalf of … Continue reading Six Titles on the Kurdish Experience in Turkey
‘Ara Guler’s Istanbul: 40 Years of Photographs’ with a foreword by Orhan Pamuk
By Monica Fritz In this exquisite edition, two significant men collaborate: photographer Ara Güler and writer Orhan Pamuk. Both native to the city, and experts in their own right, through the visual and the written word, a natural union. Istanbul seems to be disappearing before our eyes. A glimpse of its magic can still be … Continue reading ‘Ara Guler’s Istanbul: 40 Years of Photographs’ with a foreword by Orhan Pamuk
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 