Jordan Elgrably

is an American, French, and Moroccan writer and translator. His stories and creative nonfiction have appeared in many anthologies and reviews, including Apulée, Salmagundi, and the Paris Review. Editor-in-chief and founder of The Markaz Review, he is the cofounder and former director of the Levantine Cultural Center/The Markaz in Los Angeles (2001–2020). He is the editor of Stories From the Center of the World: New Middle East Fiction (City Lights 2024), and co-editor with Malu Halasa of Sumūd: a New Palestinian Reader (Seven Stories Press 2025). Based in Montpellier, France and California, he tweets at Blue Sky.

Why “Wasta” When Nepotism & Corruption are Equally Rife in the West?

Why “Wasta” When Nepotism & Corruption are Equally Rife in the West?

Our editorial outlines the fact that wasta isn't exclusively an Arab problem, but one that plagues societies east...

15 JUNE 2021 • By Jordan Elgrably
Why WALLS?

Why WALLS?

"I would like to break the walls of ignorance between East and West." Walls and barriers are what...

14 MAY 2021 • By Jordan Elgrably
Free Speech, Palestinian Stories and the Oscars

Free Speech, Palestinian Stories and the Oscars

In anticipation of Sunday's Oscars, in which another Palestinian film has been nominated, Jordan Elgrably talks to Palestinians...

21 APRIL 2021 • By Jordan Elgrably
Why TRUTH? الحقيقه

Why TRUTH? الحقيقه

Notes from the editor on truth and discernment.

15 MARCH 2021 • By Jordan Elgrably
Drought and the War in Syria

Drought and the War in Syria

Jordan Elgrably explores whether the drought in Syria fueled the country's civil war and what climate change means...

14 JANUARY 2021 • By Jordan Elgrably
A Beheading for the Prophet and a Reckoning for France

A Beheading for the Prophet and a Reckoning for France

Jordan Elgrably on rising tensions in France and in the Arab/Muslim world follow Samuel Paty's beheading at the...

26 OCTOBER 2020 • By Jordan Elgrably
How Are You Feeling? Have the Trump Years Been Good to You?

How Are You Feeling? Have the Trump Years Been Good to You?

We asked Arab and Iranian Americans how they view the Trump years and which way folks are voting.

15 OCTOBER 2020 • By Jordan Elgrably
Beirut, Beirut

Beirut, Beirut

Our first editorial announces our debut issue devoted to Beirut.

15 SEPTEMBER 2020 • By Jordan Elgrably
Why Non-Arabs Should Read Hisham Matar’s “The Return”

Why Non-Arabs Should Read Hisham Matar’s “The Return”

Jordan Elgrably finds that the family memoir of a Libyan American is one that we can all identity...

3 AUGUST 2017 • By Jordan Elgrably
American Sniper—a Botched Film That Demonizes Iraqis

American Sniper—a Botched Film That Demonizes Iraqis

Is it too much to ask that a movie set during the Second Gulf War convey something meaningful...

1 MARCH 2015 • By Jordan Elgrably
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