On Desert Planets, Meditations on “Dune”
Francisco Letelier on the lingering memories of Dune as a metaphor for a struggling planet.
The Imagination Interviews
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.
The Sea That Binds and Divides: Our Mediterranean
Iason Athanasiadis on the cities of the Mediterranean and Levant and the exceptionalism that has diminished our shared cosmopolitan future.
The Sea Remembers
Let us never forget that the sea remembers our presence and our trespasses—art from Riva Nayaju.
La Pincoya: Goddess of Marine Species
The marine goddess La Pincoya is a reminder of the polluted waters left behind in the previously pristine waters of Chiloe and Patagonia in Chile by the salmon farming industry.
Drought and the War in Syria
Jordan Elgrably explores whether the drought in Syria fueled the country's civil war and what climate change means for our global future.
On American Democracy and Empire, a Corrective
The MAGA movement is not a cause but a consequence of GOP policies, and its instantaneous vanishing with Trump's political demise is unlikely.
Muhammad Malas, Syria’s Auteur, is the subject of a Film Biography
Rana Asfour reviews a documentary by Nezar Andary on the Syrian auteur filmmaker, Muhammad Malas.
Remember 2020 Not for Covid-19 or Trump Chaos, But Climate Change
Columnist Iason Athanasiadis remembers 2020 not so much for the pandemic or the chaos of Trump but what humankind has wrought on nature.
The Howling of the Dog: Adania Shibli’s “Minor Detail”
Layla AlAmmar takes us into the heart of Adania Shibli's literary thriller, where Palestinian lives are but a "minor detail."
Cairo 1941: Excerpt from “A Land Like You”
“Gamal was convinced that Egypt, mother of the world, would spawn a new era—when Arabs, the wretched of the earth, would finally regain their place among the nations.”
Calligraphies of the Desert
Maece Seirafi suggests, Calligraphies of the Desert "reveals an indigenous comfort with the desert as reflected in Arab proverbs heard in everyday conversations."
Academics, Signatories, and Putschists
Kurdish poet and scholar Selîm Temo, takes us inside the continuing Academics for Peace struggle through his personal story.
Shahla Ujayli’s “Summer With the Enemy”
War-torn Syria isn’t just about headlines. In this new novel from Shahla Ujayli, the country comes alive as seen through the eyes of three women from Raqqa.
Shahla Ujayli’s “Summer With the Enemy”
War-torn Syria isn't just about headlines. In this new novel from Shahla Ujayli, the country comes alive as seen through the eyes of three women from Raqqa.