Editorial: Is the World Driving Us Mad?
The world may be driving us crazy, but sharing our stories across cultures and borders is one way to hang on to our sanity.
TMR 23 • MADNESS
Big Laleh, Little Laleh—memoir by Shokouh Moghimi
Who knows what drives anyone mad? For a sister who loves her big sister and emulates her, the mystery will perhaps never be resolved.
“The Devil’s Waiting List”—a story by Ahmed Salah Al-Mahdi
A solitary bachelor, seeking success as a writer, wonders what he has to do in contemporary Cairo to get ahead.
Where to Now, Ya Asfoura?—a story by Sarah AlKahly-Mills
You can run from grief and death until you lose your mind, but life is reserved for those who fight for it.
Poetry as a Form of Madness—Review of a Friendship
Youssef Rahka introduces us to his Egyptian friend Maged Zaher and his seventh volume of poetry, composed in English.
American Theocracy and Failed States
Ani Zonneveld, leader of a progressive Muslim organization, argues that the United States is sliding perilously toward theocracy.
Tunisians On the Couch in “Arab Blues”
Mischa Geracoulis reviews the film in which a Paris-trained shrink analyzes fellow Tunisians suffering from mental maladies.
Women and Literary Madness
Shahd Alshammari, a scholar of illness and disability, has written an extended study of literary madness.
War and Trauma in Yemen: Asim Abdulaziz’s “1941”
Farah Abdessamad considers generations of survivors in Yemen's first experimental film.
Lebanon in a Loop: A Retrospective of “Waves ’98”
Youssef Manessa reviews a short film from Ely Dagher that speaks to his generation of Lebanese born in the '90s.
Between Illness and Exile in “Head Above Water”
Tugrul Mende reviews Shadh Alshammari's brave account of fighting MS and abelism.