Set against the backdrop of the ongoing Syrian civil war and the resulting refugee crisis, Wild Poppies is the story of two brothers, Omar and Sufyan. As the novel opens, they, along with their mother and younger sister, have been displaced to their aunt's home in a village named Al-Nuaman, or "the poppy flower." Their … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Wild Poppies
Review by Susanne Abou Ghaida Note: This review is based on the French translation of this graphic memoir; all translations from French are mine. An English version, translated from Arabic by Nadiyah Abdullatif and Anam Zafar, was published by Balestier Press in 2023 under the title Yoghurt and Jam (or How My Mother Became Lebanese). … Continue reading #IntlYALitMonth Review: Yoghurt and Jam: Or how my mother became Lebanese
When I moved to the contiguous United States at the age of 7 from Puerto Rico, I did not speak English. I still remember my first day in a second-grade classroom, where I was the only Hispanic student and no one spoke Spanish. I went up to the teacher and told her I had a … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: The Day Saida Arrived
The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz translated from the Arabic by Elisabeth Jaquette Melville House May 24, 2016 224 pages There aren’t any spaceships or spirits in The Queue; no mutant alien viruses or Martian colonies, either. And yet, it is speculative fiction, because Basma Abdel Aziz has taken the reality of Egypt’s oppressive security … Continue reading Speculative Fiction in Translation: The Queue
Being a teenager is hard enough as it is. Layer in the loss of a beloved grandparent, gossiping relatives, a father who is a political prisoner, and the trauma of military occupation, and perhaps the only way to make sense of everything is to resort to the fantastical. Trees for the Absentees is the coming-of-age … Continue reading #WorldKidLit Wednesday: Trees for the Absentees
The Dot by Gulnar Hajo was originally published in Arabic by Bright Fingers Publishing House in Syria. The English translation by literary translator Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp is available through Darf Children’s Books, an independent children’s publisher based in the UK. The Dot opens, appropriately enough, with a dot, a mere speck in the big broad universe. This … Continue reading The Dot
Of all the novels I have read about older women this has aroused the strongest emotions in me. The woman, Ruqayya, 70, has held the grief of her family as well as her own suffering since she was 12. Ruqayya was born in a village that was claimed for the new state of Israel, and … Continue reading The Woman from Tantoura by Radwa Ashour
SEASON OF MIGRATION TO THE NORTH was selected by the Arab Literary Academy as the most important Arab novel of the 20th century, and is frequently cited as one of the most important post-colonial works in any language. Eminently readable, the metaphorical exploration of the relationship between colonial powers and their victims and the politics … Continue reading Translators Association – 60 Years of Classic Translations: Season of Migration to the North (1969)
This unique picture book was inspired by the stone artwork of Syrian artist Nizar Ali Badr, discovered by chance by Canadian children’s writer Margriet Ruurs. The author was immediately impressed by the strong narrative quality of Mr. Badr’s work, and, using many of Mr. Badr’s already-created pieces, she set out to create a story … Continue reading Stepping Stones: A Refugee Family’s Journey
Congratulations to the citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where women have achieved the freedom to drive this week! Change happens very slowly and then all of a sudden. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sowNSH_W2r0 Manal Al-Sharif driving on the streets of Saudi Arabia Manal Al-Sharif was the very public face of the #Women2Drive campaign in the Kingdom of … Continue reading ‘Daring to Drive: A Saudi Woman’s Awakening’ by Manal Al-Sharif
Global Literature in Libraries Initiative 