Poems from <em>When the Arab Apocalypse Comes to America</em>

Weekly

Three stories published every Friday

Tunisia’s Fading Medina Heritage: A Glimpse of our Future?

Tunis’ ancient citadel is threatened by climate change and incompetence but could also offer solutions to hotter, wetter conditions. 

23 OCTOBER 2026 • By Iason Athanasiadis

A Sunday Walk to the Drums of War

Israel's strategy in Lebanon’s south is less a new military design than an "old and improved" version of its national security concept.

23 OCTOBER 2026 • By Amal Ghandour

Sorry, No Pharaohs Here: A Review of The Completely True Tales

Belal Fadl offers an unromantic portrait of Cairo’s urban poor in The Completely True Tales of Um Mimi and Sharawi the Adulterer.

23 OCTOBER 2026 • By Salma Harland

“Remnants”—a short story

A woman returns to post-Assad Syria to discover whether the home she has carried with her still exists.

16 OCTOBER 2026 • By Anas Tareef

“Seven Plates”—a short story

In this first-place winner of the Azhar Short Story Prize, a caretaker lives in the shadow of an uncertain return.

16 OCTOBER 2026 • By Natalia Boumatar

Every Grain of Sand Has Gallows: A Review of The Sleep Thief

In Ibtisam Azem's new novel, absurdity becomes the only way to explore the current Palestinian condition.

16 OCTOBER 2026 • By Ilham Essalih

Behind the Story: Anas Tareef on “Remnants”

The author of "Remnants" reflects on his short story, the craft of writing, and the idea of return.

16 OCTOBER 2026 • By Saleem Haddad

Seven Questions with Ibtisam Azem

The International Booker longlisted author on writing through uncertainty, the limits of fiction, and the quiet of the page.  

16 OCTOBER 2026 • By Saleem Haddad

The Victory Sign: Between Bravado and Brute Fact

A TMR columnist examines a historical record marked by missteps and false victories in the struggle for Palestinian liberation.

9 OCTOBER 2026 • By Amal Ghandour

Current Issue

TMR 61 ANTHROPOCENE

  • TMR 61
  • Editorial

Why Anthropocene?

TMR’s Literary Editor reflects on what created the Anthropocene—capitalism, colonialism, ecocide—and the possibility of undoing it.

By Abdelrahman ElGendy
  • TMR 61
  • Centerpiece

Hunter, Trickster, Gatherer

The human will toward life meets the inhuman algorithms hunting people down like prey in Israel's ravaging of Lebanon.

By Cynthia Kreichati
  • TMR 61
  • Featured Artist

Monira Al Qadiri’s Relics of the Future

A self-described “dystopian artist” creates works that seek to tell stories about our modern condition from a future point of view.

By Nour Annan

Fiction

“Remnants”—a short story

A woman returns to post-Assad Syria to discover whether the home she has carried with her still exists.

16 OCTOBER 2026 • By Anas Tareef

“Seven Plates”—a short story

In this first-place winner of the Azhar Short Story Prize, a caretaker lives in the shadow of an uncertain return.

16 OCTOBER 2026 • By Natalia Boumatar

Essays

To Inhabit the Wind: The Kurd and the Politics of Recognition

A young Kurdish writer grapples with what it means to exist outside the politics of appeal and visibility.

7 AUGUST 2026 • By Aline Jabbari

The Passive Voice of Light: On Grief and Imperial Grammar

A Palestinian teacher remembers the sister who taught her the passive voice, not knowing that grammar would be used to erase her.

10 JULY 2026 • By Hanan Habashi

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Three new pieces of SWANA literature, criticism and art every Friday.

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