Hartaqât: Heresies of a World with Policed Borders
In a mix of theatrical performance, music and visual arts, three voices bear witness to the courage of exiles, reports Nada Ghosn.
The Tate Embraces Morocco with The Casablanca Art School
Sophie Kazan reviews a colorful exhibition that conveys Moroccan history and culture via paintings, ceramics, photographs, 1960s and 1970s film footage, woven textiles and posters.
Lebanese Thespian Aida Sabra Blossoms in International Career
Acclaimed by French critics for her performance in Wajdi Mouawad’s “Mère,” Aida Sabra stars in a play on domestic violence.
The Vanishing of the Public Intellectual
Public intellectuals no longer exist, argues Moustafa Bayoumi; they have been usurped by “influencers.”
Editors’ Picks: Public Intellectuals
The editors of The Markaz Review made the difficult choice of selecting just two of their go-to public intellectuals.
The Contemporary Literary Scene in Iran
Salar Abdoh reports from Tehran on the beauty and complexity of Iranian literature that thrives despite warring factions.
In and Between Languages: Writing on the Fault Line
Nektaria Anastasiadou writes about her decision to pen her works using the historically fractured language of the Istanbul dialect of Greek.
“Silence is Golden”—a short story by Farah Ahamed
In Farah Ahamed’s latest satire, one man’s misunderstood greatness drives him to take preposterous action.
Reza Aslan’s An American Martyr in Persia Argues for US-Iranian Friendship
Dalia Sofer reviews Reza Aslan’s latest book on American Howard Baskerville, “martyred” alongside revolutionary students in Iran in 1909.
It Is Time to Reclaim Public Intellectuals
Deborah Lindsey Williams Writing in the early part of the 19th century, Alexis de Tocqueville observed that in
“Supplication”—a short story by Hisham Bustani
In Hisham Bustani’s new short story, one man’s religious nightmare brings him face to face with an unlikely public intellectual of his day.
The Task of the Public Intellectual? Translation
Deborah Kapchan calls for public intellectuals who can speak in many registers amidst the rise of attacks on intellectualism everywhere.