Letter From Tehran: From Hair to Hugs, Times Are Changing
One of Iran's contemporary writers shares his thoughts with a friend in the west about the direction the country is going as a result of the Mahsa Amini protests.
TMR
5 Poems & a Video—Essential Voices: Poetry of Iran and Its Diaspora
Poems from Iranian poets in Iran and diaspora, from a new anthology edited by Christopher Nelson and introduced by Kaveh Bassiri.
Two Poems from Quebec’s Nicole Brossard
Our poetry editor, Sholeh Wolpé, has selected two poems from the new collection from one of Canada's most lauded poets.
You Don’t Have to Be A Super Hero to Be a Heroine
In the new issue of TMR, the editors present their case for everyday women achieving the extraordinary as they overcome adversity.
Homage to Mahsa Jhina Amini & the Women-Led Call for Freedom
In HEROINES, artists pay homage to the late Mahsa Jhina Amini and the women-led uprising for freedom in Iran.
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.
Featured Artist: Steve Sabella, Beyond Palestine
The artist and writer from Palestine has a universal vision to bring people together across boundaries and borders.
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.
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.
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!
Is Tel Aviv’s Neve Tzedek, Too, Occupied Territory?
Taylor Miller explores the aesthetics of gentrification and the "settler colonial hydra that continually displaces, erases, and reinscribes Palestinian space."
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… 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.”
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.
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.
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 novel "Homeland Elegies."
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."
Arab/Muslim Health: We’re All in This Together
A health professional argues for public health policies that benefit both minority and majority communities.
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.
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."
Bab L’Bluz Fuses Gnawa, Blues & Rock
Founded in 2018, Bab L'Bluz has just come out with a stunning debut album fusing gnawa, blues, rock and chaabi, not to be missed.
Hassan Musa exhibition in Paris / “I Love You”
Franco-Sudanese master painter Hassan Musa is the bomb.
What We’re Into
What we're reading, watching, listening to and otherwise indulging in (comments welcome).
Algiers, the Black Panthers & the Revolution
While Elaine Mokhtefi worked devotedly for the Black Panthers, the men who ran it were, it turned out, deeply flawed.