Hassan Blasim’s “God 99”
God 99 blurs the boundaries between fiction and autobiography, reportage and the novel. It blends the fantastic with the everyday to explore themes of exile, humanity, art and philosophy.
The Imagination Interviews
You Drive Me Crazy, from “Bride of the Sea”
In this debut novel Eman Quotah practically delivers an epic as she writes about a Saudi family, torn between Arab and American identities and culture clashes.
Freedom is femininity: Faraj Bayrakdar
18 years in the making, this winter Upset Press will publish a new volume of poems by former Syrian political prisoner and cause célèbre Faraj Bayrakdar.
The Mysteries of Translation in “Stranger Fictions”
Europe is the center of the world and has the literature to prove it. Or is it? Arabic and comparative literature scholar Rebecca C. Johnson makes a different argument in Stranger Fictions.
Trembling Landscapes: Between Reality and Fiction: Eleven Artists from the Middle East*
Landscape is a charged notion in the Middle East—even the geographical term Middle East is not neutral, but Eurocentric and has its origin in colonialism. Co-curator Nat Muller explains.
Threading the Needle: Najwa Najjar’s “Between Heaven and Earth”
Ammiel Alcalay reviews writer/director Najwa Najjar's third feature film—"part road movie, part mystery, part thriller."
To Be or Not to Be, That is Not the Question
December 12, 2020 marks the 95th birthday of the revolutionary and controversial Iranian poet, translator, essayist, editor, encyclopedist, and cultural figure, Ahmad Shamlou (1925-2000).
Assaulting Free Speech in the Israel/Palestine Debate
Columnist Firouzeh Afsharnia says Facebook shut her down for bringing up Israel's heavy-handedness when it comes to Iran and flouting international law.
Kuwait’s Alanoud Alsharekh, Feminist Groundbreaker
Nada Ghosn speaks to Dr. Alanoud Alsharekh in our monthly series profiling trailblazing Arab, Iranian and other women of the Middle East and North Africa.
The Unbearable Affront of Colorism
Banah al Ghadbanah on the scourge of racism/colorism in Syrian communities and how it is tied to centuries-old endemic anti-Blackness and internalized colonialism.
The Unvarnished Truth about Obama, Harris and Diversity without Accountability
Columnist Mara Ahmed isn't fooled by Obama's burnished spin, nor is she taken in by Kamala Harris' mixed Indian-Jamaican heritage.
Breathing in a Plague
Kurdish poet-scholar-translator Selîm Temo thinks of the young Thomas Bernhard and his infant son as he fights for life in intensive care.
Arabs and Muslims on Stage: Can We Unpack Our Baggage?
Egyptian American playwright Yussef El Guindi argues it's time for American theatre to go beyond bombs and burkas when it comes to Arab/Muslim characters and storylines.
Freekeh, freekeh, freekeh!
Bethlehem's epicurean chef, Fadi Kattan, talks about one of his big loves and even lets us in on his freekeh risotto recipe.
Systemic Racism in Tunisia Hasn’t Gone Away
Arab/Muslim countries of the Middle East and North Africa have largely failed to fight racism and discrimination against black people. To go deeper into the DNA of Arab/Muslim racism, TMR asked Khawla Ksiksi to give an in-depth overview of the situation in Tunisia.