Fouad Agbaria: Featured Artist
For our 21st monthly issue, TMR features the work of an artist who is continually working out what it means to be a Palestinian citizen of Israel.
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LA Sketches: Sneakers and the Man From Taroudant
A young artisan from Taroudant, Morocco now calls Los Angeles home and brings a particular flare to shoe design.
LA Sketches: Fred Saidy, Humorist
In a blast from Hollywood's colorful past, Lebanese American writer Fred Saidy remembers Mrs. Nazralla's exquisite baklava, and her loquacious manner.
LA Sketches: John Nazarian, Defender of the Underdog
Syrian and Armenian American John Nazarian was for decades a champion of those who struggled in Los Angeles.
LA Sketches: Dimitris Mahlis, Oud Artist
Musician-composer Dimitris Mahlis celebrates multiple oud traditions as he offers TMR listeners two meditative taksim.
Hayy Jameel — Jeddah’s Sparkling New Center for the Arts
Jeddah, Saudi Arabia is home to a major new arts and cultural center, opening to the public on December 6, 2021.
FIRE: An Abbreviated Reading List
Here are a few staff picks in a very short list that could benefit from having us add your own fire-related titles. Come on, light our fire.
Day of the Imprisoned Writer — November 15, 2021
TMR On November 15th, every year now for the last 40 years, PEN International has observed the Day of the Imprisoned Writer. With the harassment, detention, conviction and imprisonment of… Continue reading Day of the Imprisoned Writer — November 15, 2021
Omar El Akkad on his second novel “What Strange Paradise”
Rana Asfour, Book Editor at The Markaz Review, and the TMR Bookgroup talk to author Omar El Akkad about his second novel What Strange Paradise.
Libya’s Exiled Satirist, Hasan “Alsatoor” Dhaimish
During the long Gaddafi years, Libya produced many exiles, among them the satirical cartoonist and illustrator Hasan “Alsatoor” Dhaimish.
Summer of ‘21 Reading—Notes from the Editors
Our editors reveal their diverse literary interests, with more than a dozen recommendations for summer reading.
Gaza, You and Me
A Palestinian student in Gaza and a Palestinian doing post-doctoral work in the States compare their experience of the May 2021 Israel-Hamas conflict.
World Picks: July 2021
Travel the world, meet people, see great places, without ever leaving the comfort of your screen…well, in some cases you can go in person!
TMR Resource Guide to Armenian Culture
The first of many new resource guides to the arts of a particular culture, in this case, Armenian. Readers are invited to contribute their own recommendations.
Marseille is the gateway to North Africa
Poster courtesy of Mucem. “Marseilles has always had close ties with the rest of the Mediterranean basin, in particular the northern shore of Africa, a privileged position that has been… Continue reading Marseille is the gateway to North Africa
Decisive Moments in Marseille
Marseille through the lens of photographer Bernard Plossu.
Zoppa: Mediterranean Female Duo
Meet the fabulous vocal duo formed in Marseille known as Zoppa, weaving together Spanish, Greek, jazz and world music influences.
Arab Shaman: Remembering Hani Naser
Drummer and author John Densmore recalls the mastery and the mysticism of his late friend Hani Naser.
A visual poem from Hala Alyan: Gaza
A spoken word poem from the author of The Twenty-Ninth Year and The Arsonists' City.
Academics Decry French Attacks on “Islamo-Leftists”
Hundreds of French and Anglophone academics are speaking out against what they call the French government’s “conspiracy theory” and “witch hunt” of so-called Islamo-leftists.
World Picks, February-March ‘21
Travel the world, meet people, see great places, without ever leaving the comfort of your screen…welcome to the pandemic!
Francofeminism: a Postcolonial History
Mariem Gellouz and Sélima Kebaïli deconstruct Francophonie in the context of postcolonial Tunisian, Arab and African feminism.
World Picks, January and February ‘21
Travel the world, meet people, see great places, without ever leaving the comfort of your screen…welcome to the pandemic!
Watch Water Films & Donate to Water Organizations
Is the cost of water really higher than the cost of petrol? Are we destined to run out of water if we don't find a way forward? 4 films, 6 charitable organizations you should know.
The Sea Remembers
Let us never forget that the sea remembers our presence and our trespasses—art from Riva Nayaju.
Cairo 1941: Excerpt from “A Land Like You”
“Gamal was convinced that Egypt, mother of the world, would spawn a new era—when Arabs, the wretched of the earth, would finally regain their place among the nations.”
Kuwait’s Alanoud Alsharekh, Feminist Groundbreaker
Nada Ghosn speaks to Dr. Alanoud Alsharekh in our monthly series profiling trailblazing Arab, Iranian and other women of the Middle East and North Africa.
Assaulting Free Speech in the Israel/Palestine Debate
Columnist Firouzeh Afsharnia says Facebook shut her down for bringing up Israel's heavy-handedness when it comes to Iran and flouting international law.
The Unbearable Affront of Colorism
Banah al Ghadbanah on the scourge of racism/colorism in Syrian communities and how it is tied to centuries-old endemic anti-Blackness and internalized colonialism.
Breathing in a Plague
Kurdish poet-scholar-translator Selîm Temo thinks of the young Thomas Bernhard and his infant son as he fights for life in intensive care.
Arabs and Muslims on Stage: Can We Unpack Our Baggage?
Egyptian American playwright Yussef El Guindi argues it's time for American theatre to go beyond bombs and burkas when it comes to Arab/Muslim characters and storylines.
Isabel Wilkerson on Race & Caste in the 21st Century
"It's impossible not to think about race in relation to the United States these days," writes Paris correspondent Monique El-Faizy in this review of Isabel Wilkerson's Caste.
The Road to Jerusalem, Then and Now
Palestinian attorney and a founder of the human rights organization Al-Haq, Raja Shehadeh takes us on a journey of memory and history, from Ramallah to Jerusalem.
Are Iranians—Restricted by the Trump Era Muslim-Country Ban—White?
With The Limits of Whiteness sociologist Neda Maghbouleh makes the case for the new, radical idea that a white American immigrant group can (and ought to) have the transformative power to become brown.
Systemic Racism in Tunisia Hasn’t Gone Away
Arab/Muslim countries of the Middle East and North Africa have largely failed to fight racism and discrimination against black people. To go deeper into the DNA of Arab/Muslim racism, TMR asked Khawla Ksiksi to give an in-depth overview of the situation in Tunisia.
Ayad Akhtar on Capitalism, Literature & the U.S. Decline
A candid conversation with the Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright of Disgraced and author of the new novel, Homeland Elegies.
Why is Arabic Provoking such Controversy in France?
Melissa Chemam takes us inside the French controversy over Arabic and radical Islam.
Is White Feminism the De Facto Weapon of White Supremacy?
Rana Asfour reviews White Tears/Brown Scars by Ruby Hamad—"an explosive book of history and cultural criticism" that argues "white feminism has been a weapon of white supremacy and patriarchy deployed against black and indigenous women, and women of color."
Samar Yazbek’s 19 Syrian Women Who Resisted
TMR's Nada Ghosn interviews Syrian author-activist Samar Yazbek in Paris following the publication of 19 Women: Syrian Women Speak.
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 hands of a young Islamic radical who was shot dead by police.
Arab/Muslim Health: We’re All in This Together
A health professional argues for public health policies that benefit both minority and majority communities.
Trump’s “Favorite Dictator” Imprisons Journalists
Trump's "favorite dictator" is Egyptian president Abdefattah el-Sisi, who calls for journalists critical of his regime to be severely punished.
A Conversation with Arundhati Roy & Colson Whitehead
The novelists and essayists discuss these difficult times, the rise of neo-fascism in India and the U.S., and "What Lies Ahead."
Dear Neighbors With the Trump/Pence Sign
Novelist Laila Halaby reconciles herself with the neighborhood.
Bahey eldin Hassan, Condemned But Defiant
In 2020, Egypt's dictatorship condemns one of its most stalwart human rights activists to 15 years in prison for something he posted in a tweet.
Artists on the Trump Era
Three American artists, Daliah Ammar, Sandow Birk and Jos Sances, share their work, created during the Trump administration.
Women Battle for the Soul of America
Columnist Maryam Zar observes Trump's 11th-hour nominee for the Supreme Court vs. Biden's veep pick and sees an epic battle for the soul of America.
Why “The Red and the Blue”?
What is an arts publication doing writing about "The Red and the Blue"—colors symbolic of the divisions of a troubled nation?
Interlink Proposes 4 New Arab Novels
New literature translated from abroad is a cause for celebration.
Emel Mathlouthi Returns with The Tunis Diaries
The vocalist from Tunis who lives in New York was confined in Tunis and found herself "falling back in love with music that is simple, direct, and from the heart."