The Angels of Desire
Youssef Rakha meditates on dreams and desire, and why he might just be ready to die for a stranger.
TMR 19 • DESIRE
Chewing Viagra Gum, the Audio Version!
Malu Halasa performs Mai Ghoussoub's groundbreaking essay, "Chewing Viagra Gum."
Carlo in Belgrade (in which a father loves a son)
A father's love for one of his sons is almost ineffable, in Hanif Kureishi's journal intime and travel account in Covid times.
Desire and the Palestinian Kitchen
A take on desire from a masterful cook and Bethlehem chef, Fadi Kattan.
Your Wish is My Command: A Concierge’s Story
A young Arab American concierge working at the iconic Beverly Wilshire in Beverly Hills recalls what it was like to be on duty.
“Gluttony” from Abbas Beydoun’s “Frankenstein’s Mirrors”
Lebanese poet-novelist Abbas Baydoun reflects in an autobiographical mode on the melancholy of language and existence, while contemplating sweets.
Three Poems of Love and Desire by Nouri Al-Jarrah
Three poems of love and desire, composed in Beirut during the darkest days of the civil war, and war within war, by exiled Syrian poet Nouri al-Jarrah.
Hand-Written Love Letters and Words of the Great Arab Poets
Artist Reem Mouasher shares her recent series of paintings, inspired by the era of hand-written love letters, borrowing words of great Arab poets; Gibran, Qabbani, Al-Mutanabbi and Mahmoud Darwish.
Fiction: “Skin Calluses” by Khalil Younes
Syrian artist and writer Khalil Younes recalls the strained sexuality of Martyrs Square in Damascus.
No Sex Please, We’re Syrian: on Syrian Sexual Humor During War
A frank look at the changing social attitudes toward sexuality in war-torn Syria.
Three Love Poems by Rumi, Translated by Haleh Liza Gafori
Iranian American poet and translator Haleh Liza Gafori presents a new volume of Rumi translations in "GOLD" published by NYRB Classics.
On “True Love Leaves No Traces”
From Leonard Cohen to Apollo and Daphne to French philosopher Jean-Lun Nancy, Arie Akkermans-Amaya looks at the influences of an Istanbul exhibition.
The Art of Remembrance in Abacus of Loss
Sherine Elbanhawy lives in the pages of a memoir in verse and finds herself reluctant to leave, identifying with how its author unpacks the complexities of exile, home, family and love.
Fiction: “A Day in the Life of a Married Man”
A tale of conjugal love from the first complete story collection in English by Moroccan writer and cult feminist Malika Moustadraf, translated by Alice Guthrie.