FREEDOM TO READ
TMR's literary editor gives insight and nuance to our Summer 2025 double literary issue.
- Editorial
Ignoring the Drones: Introduction to Freedom to Read
TMR's literary editor gives insight and nuance to our Summer 2025 double literary issue.
- CENTERPIECE
“Space Imam”—a story by Hassan Blasim
A story excerpted from Hassan Blasim’s forthcoming collection entitled "The Buried," to be published at the end of the year.
4 July 2025 • By Hassan Blasim- Featured Artist
Syria and the Future of Art: an Intimate Portrait
Following the banishment of Bashar Al-Assad, Syrian artists are starting to return and exhibit new work at home and internationally.
4 July 2025 • By Arie Amaya-AkkermansMORE FROM THIS ISSUE
Unwritten Stories from Palestine
Thoth invites readers to witness the struggles of Palestinians and raise awareness of the ongoing catastrophe in the West Bank.
4 JULY 2025 • BY THOTH
A Medical Gaze at the Grand Multiparas
A doctor writes on the grand multipara, “the great giver of multiple births” — women who have given birth five or more times.
4 JULY 2025 • BY SARAH SHAHEEN
Palestine Is Literature: Elias Khoury & Ilan Pappé in Conversation
Elias Khoury and Ilan Pappe discuss a mutual line of racism and victimization that runs through the Nakba and the Holocaust.
4 JULY 2025 • BY ILAN PAPPé
In Nasser Rabah’s Poetry, تقول القصيدة كلمتها
Nasser Rabah and other poets of Gaza are still writing — still sending their poems to us, because Palestine is literature.
4 JULY 2025 • BY EMAN QUOTAH
In Reading, We Resist
In Paranda, everyday activities like reading symbolize protest and resistance in homes, alleyways, and gatherings.
4 JULY 2025 • BY MARIE BAMYANI
Syrian Asylees in the US Risk Everything Going Home
U.S. asylees and refugees must consider the risks of visiting Syria against the lives they've established in the U.S.
4 JULY 2025 • BY RANA ALSOUFI
“The General Secretariat of Speed Bumps”—an Excerpt
Wasta and nepotism are at the heart of this short story by Yemen’s most prolific writer, theatre critic, and journalist.
4 JULY 2025 • BY HAYEL AL-MATHABI
“My Choices Are My Downfall”—a short story by Fadi Zaghmout
What happens when a human-robot relationship forms? In near-future Dubai, an accident in a skyscraper holds the key to this question.
4 JULY 2025 • BY FADI ZAGHMOUT
Syria and the Future of Art: an Intimate Portrait
Following the banishment of Bashar Al-Assad, Syrian artists are starting to return and exhibit new work at home and internationally.
4 JULY 2025 • BY ARIE AMAYA-AKKERMANS
Victor Hugo and Islam: A Literary Bridge Between East and West
Victor Hugo’s way still guides those building bridges across languages, faiths, and histories in a time of fear.
4 JULY 2025 • BY YAHIA LABABIDI
Reading Between the Lines of Land
Trekking through the diverse terrains of Britain, Norway, and Saudi Arabia, a geologist embarks on a journey of self-discovery and reconnecting with her roots.
4 JULY 2025 • BY MANAR ALSAIF
The Bullet, the Missile and the Woman In-Between
A meditation on how war distorts the perception of time, transforming events and emotions into distant memories.
4 JULY 2025 • BY ALIREZA IRANMEHR
Arab Writing in French: Claiming Space and Language
The “francophone” term limits books to the “Francophonie” section in French bookstores, and forces authors to focus on identity.
4 JULY 2025 • BY LARA VERGNAUD
“Waving at the Sky”—a story by Nahla Karam
Two women on the mend in the hospital, one a wife and mother, the other pining for a lover, both dream of a better life.
4 JULY 2025 • BY NAHLA KARAM
Are We As Free To Read Books As We Think?
We're not quite at "Fahrenheit 451" where books in pyres are burned in public, but our freedom to read faces significant threats.
4 JULY 2025 • BY YASMINA JRAISSATI
Architecture and Political Memory
In Iraq, buildings don’t simply reflect ideology — they absorb it, transmit it, and sometimes resist it. Especially when left unfinished.
4 JULY 2025 • BY MERIAM OTHMAN
A Voice That Defied Silence: The Legacy of Dr. Refaat Al-Areer
Palestinian Refaat Al-Areer was not just an academic. He was a living metaphor for Gaza’s steadfastness, writes his student Taqwa Al-Wawi.
4 JULY 2025 • BY TAQWA AHMED AL-WAWI
Palestine’s Places and Memorials Are Not Forgotten
A profound meditation on the Palestinian landscape, on loss, neglect and the ravages of time, by Raja Shehadeh and Peggy Johnson.
4 JULY 2025 • BY GABRIEL POLLEY
“Bleating”—a short story by Eman Al Yousuf
After many years of being tormented, a man finally seeks revenge against past aggressors who have long since vanished. Or have they?
4 JULY 2025 • BY EMAN AL YOUSUF
The Book Censor’s Library by Bothayna Al-Essa—a Review
A tale set in the near-future exploring the world of banned books, repressed imaginations, dreams, and desires.
4 JULY 2025 • BY RANA ASFOUR
“Space Imam”—a story by Hassan Blasim
A story excerpted from Hassan Blasim’s forthcoming collection entitled "The Buried," to be published at the end of the year.
4 JULY 2025 • BY HASSAN BLASIM
Memoricide Voided by Four Palestinian Women Diarists
"Voices of Resistance" stands as a vital work of testimonial literature that refuses to be forgotten, writes Francesca Vawdrey.
4 JULY 2025 • BY FRANCESCA VAWDREY
History of Ash by Khadija Marouazi—an Excerpt
Mouline and Leila recount their prison years in Morocco in the 1970s and '80s during the "Years of Lead" — a period characterized by heavy state repression.
4 JULY 2025 • BY KHADIJA MAROUAZI