World Picks from the Editors: Nov 24 – Dec 10
The editors of The Markaz Review recommend several of the best cultural events happening now around the world.
The Imagination Interviews
Bahar: 22 years in the Life of a Compulsory Hijabi in Teheran
Joumana Haddad tells the true story of a young Iranian woman in Tehran, albeit vehicled by fiction.
Iranian Women Photographers: Life, Freedom, Music, Art & Hair
Malu Halasa reviews the latest book on Iranian women photographers by Anahita Ghabaian Etehadieh alongside two new books in a similar vein.
Clashing Cultures and Gender Politics in The Persian Version
Bavand Karim reviews "The Persian Version," a 2023 American comedy drama film directed and written by Maryam Keshavarz.
What’s in a Ceasefire?
For Gaza, the terms “humanitarian pause” and “ceasefire” may not be enough and might even be used as a fig leaf for forced displacement.
Avi Shlaim Interviewed by Layla Maghribi
Layla Maghribi interviews Israeli historian at Oxford Avi Shlaim on his new memoir and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The Fiction of Palestine’s Ghassan Zaqtan
Cory Oldweiler reviews three novellas by Bethlehem born and raised, Ramallah-based poet and writer Ghassan Zaqtan.
War and Art: A Lebanese Photographer and His Protégés
War and documentary photographer Maher Attar opens the Art District in Beirut to nurture other artists and beauty.
My Love for Derna: Interview with Libyan Writer Mahbuba Khalifa
A Libyan writer from Derna laments the floods that came not long after she devoted a short story collection to her hometown.
Beautiful October 7th Art Belies the Horrors of War
UC Irvine scholar and author on the Middle East Mark LeVine warns the Gaza war is biting off more than anyone is bargaining for.
World Picks from the Editors: Nov 07 – Nov 24
The editors of The Markaz Review recommend several world events.
Poet Ahmad Almallah
Poet and writer Ahmad Almallah grew up in Bethlehem and presently makes his home in Philadelphia.
ADONIS in Translation—Kareem Abu-Zeid with Ivan Eubanks
Translator Kareem Abu-Zeid talks about the recent New Directions volume of the translated poems of Syrian maestro Adonis.
Remembering Khaled Khalifa on the 40th Day
For the 40th day from his death, Youssef Rakha considers fellow writer Khaled Khalifa in the context of both Arabic and world literary canons.
Palestine’s Pen against Israel’s Swords of Injustice
Novelist Mai Al-Nakib opines that despite the bombs and the bullets, Arab voices and cultural narratives are on the rise and gaining momentum.