Clik here to view.
New Poetry in Translation: ‘The Light Isn’t Surrounded by Guards’
A new poem in translation from Egyptian poet Mohsen Mohamed’s debut collection, published in 2020: The Light Isn’t Surrounded by Guards By Mohsen Mohamed Translated by Sherine Elbanhawy I am the son...
View ArticleTwo Poems by Al-Dawy Mohammed Al-Dawy
Grave of the Butterflies By Al-Dawy Mohammed Al-Dawy Translated by Enas El-Torky Many years ago I swallowed a butterfly while I was singing. A butterfly flew into my throat, as butterflies fly toward...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Poetry in Translation: Salah Jahin’s ‘Cigarette Ash’
At the end of the year, we’re re-running some of our favorite fiction and interviews from 2021. Here, Salma Harland translates the legendary “Cigarette Ash” («تراب دخان» ) written by the legendary...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Poetry in Translation: Fadi Azzam’s ‘This Is Damascus, You Sons of Bitches’
This is Damascus, You Sons of Bitches By Fadi Azzam Translated by Ghada Alatrash Image: Wikimedia She is Baghdad’s rival sister, Beirut’s bait, Cairo’s envy, Amman’s dream, Mecca’s conscience,...
View ArticlePoetry in Translation: The 13th Century ‘My Religion—My Wine’
By Nasir, the Hebrew & Arabic Litterateur Edited and translated by Alan Elbaum Translator’s note: The author of the text translated here — one of the two poems by Nasir that appeared in the FOLK...
View ArticleAn Excerpt from Ahmed Douma’s ‘Blasphemy’
By Ahmed Douma Translated by Ahmed Hassan and Elliott Colla Nothing is more precious than the opening of a new window onto the world… or onto freedom. This is true everywhere, but it is especially...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Poem #10 from Ahmed Douma’s ‘Curly’
By Ahmed Douma Translated by Ahmed Hassan and Elliott Colla This throng of questions wounds Especially when the situation is “silent.” Loneliness eats at my mind And so I begin to fume and babble....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Let Us Spell Out Life: Prison Writing by Ahmed Douma
By Elliott Colla It is something of a badge of honor that Egypt’s most renowned modern poet, the late Ahmed Fouad Negm, was arrested, detained, tried, and imprisoned so many time during his career....
View ArticleClik here to view.
New Poetry in Translation: Fadi Azzam’s ‘If You Are Syrian These Days …’
By Fadi Azzam Translated by Ghada Alatrash Fadi Azzam – If you are Syrian these days, you stand shielded and exposed, you are the awakening and the delusion, and the dream and the nightmare, all...
View ArticleA Valentine’s Poem: Mouna Ouafik’s ‘I Decorate Her Navel with Ezra Pound’s...
I Decorate Her Navel with Ezra Pound’s Penis By Mouna Ouafik Translated by Robin Moger Late come to creation, So much happened without us. Facing each other, we sit, both running on to all possible...
View ArticleClik here to view.
New in Translation: Three Poems by Riyad al-Saleh al-Hussein
Nearly four decades after his death at the age of 28, Riyad al-Saleh al-Hussein’s work remains a vibrant part of the poetic and imaginative landscape of Syria and beyond. ArabLit contributor Ibtihal...
View ArticleClik here to view.
On March 13, Poems for and after Mahmoud Darwish
The great Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish (1941-2008) was born on this day in al-Birwa. Here, we gather a few poems inspired by Darwish or dedicated to his memory. Samar Abdel Jaber’s “Four Years...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A Poem for Land Day: Mahmoud Darwish’s ‘The Second Olive Tree’
On March 30, 1976, Israeli police shot and killed six Palestinians as they were protesting the Israeli government’s expropriation of thousands of acres of Palestinian land. In the years that followed,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
From the ‘Mirrors’ Issue: Hilal Badr’s ‘Ash-sha’b Yurid Isqat an-Nizam’
This piece originally appeared in our MIRRORS issue, which you can find at in print at Khan Aljanub, Gumroad, Amazon, and select bookshops, and digitally at Exact Editions and Gumroad. You can also...
View ArticleNew Poetry from Sudan: Mughira Harbya’s ‘Three Songs for the Ghajar’
Editor’s note: Within an Arabic literary translators’ email group, there was a vibrant discussion about how to translate الغجر, with suggestions ranging from Travellers to Roma or Romani to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Remembering Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, an Avant Garde Pioneer of Sudanese Poetry
For our special IN FOCUS: SUDAN section, which launched this month, scholar, writer, and translator Adil Babikir shines a light on one of Sudan’s most important poets, Salah Ahmed Ibrahim, who he says...
View ArticleAn Excerpt from Ahmed Douma’s ‘Blasphemy’
By Ahmed Douma Translated by Ahmed Hassan and Elliott Colla Nothing is more precious than the opening of a new window onto the world… or onto freedom. This is true everywhere, but it is especially...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Let Us Spell Out Life: Prison Writing by Ahmed Douma
By Elliott Colla It is something of a badge of honor that Egypt’s most renowned modern poet, the late Ahmed Fouad Negm, was arrested, detained, tried, and imprisoned so many time during his career....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Remembering Muthaffar Al-Nawab: Poet, Nomad, and Warrior for Justice Who...
By Zeena Faulk The legendary poet Muthaffar al-Nawab (1934-2022) passed away on May 20 after a long battle with illness. In Iraq, the reaction was mournfully comical: a presidential aircraft sent to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘A Poem from the World of Cats’ by Muthaffar al-Nawab
Yesterday, we remembered poet Muthaffar al-Nawab (1934-2022). Today, a poem of his from our Fall 2020 CATS issue. * A Poem from the World of Cats By Muthaffar al-Nawab Translated by Zeena Faulk A dark...
View Article