The Vanishing: Are Arab Christians an Endangered Minority?
Hadani Ditmars reviews Janine di Giovanni's ambitious new travelogue on beleaguered Christian communities in Iraq, Gaza, Syria, and Egypt.
Iraq
A Street in Marrakesh Revisited
In which the editor of "Poetic Justice: An Anthology of Contemporary Moroccan Poetry" remembers her introduction to life in Marrakesh.
Guantánamo—The World’s Most Infamous Prison
An excerpt from Sarah Mirk's graphic novel describes life in the infamous US prison in Cuba.
Why Resistance Is Foundational to Kurdish Literature
Kurdish writer Ava Homa on how statelessness, trauma and political exile shaped her novel "Daughters of Smoke and Fire."
The Harrowing Life of Kurdish Freedom Activist Kobra Banehi
Excerpted from the anthology Kurdish Women’s Stories (Pluto Press, 2020), by special arrangement with editor Houzan Mahmoud. The Prison Speakers Played Islamic Verses Kobra Banehi Kobra Banehi, also known… Continue reading The Harrowing Life of Kurdish Freedom Activist Kobra Banehi
Afghanistan Falls to the Taliban
On the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, Hadani Ditmars remembers the treasures and the ruins of Afghanistan and Iraq.
World Picks: August 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!
Summer of ‘21 Reading—Notes from the Editors
Our editors reveal their diverse literary interests, with more than a dozen recommendations for summer reading.
ISIS and the Absurdity of War in the Age of Twitter
Jessica Proett reviews Salar Abdoh's empirical novel set during the days when ISIS was running loose across Iraq and Syria.
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!
Truth or Dare? Reinterpreting Al-Harīrī’s Arab Rogue
Farah Abdessamad reviews a new English translation of Impostures from Basra-born Al-Hariri that revives the "eloquent rogue" genre of classical Arabic literature.
Poetry Against the State
Gil Anidjar reviews A Bibliography for After Jews and Arabs, and suggests that "our problem is that we have stopped listening to the poets."
The Truth About Iraq: Memory, Trauma and the End of an Era
Hadani Ditmars remembers what Baghdad was like following the second Gulf War in 2003, when she toured Abu Ghraib with Robert Fisk.
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.
Iraq and the Arab World on the Edge of the Abyss
Osama Esber interviews an Iraqi environmental writer on his book Guardians of the Water and the future of water in the region.