The Last Barbary Lion

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 Um Mimi

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

Latest Essays & Fiction

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS

FREE WEEKLY NEWSLETTER

Join the community

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

    Scroll to Top