Arabs & Race in America through the Short Story Prism
The best writing in "Alligator & Other Stories" starts a different conversation about Arab belonging and assimilation in America, through the prism of Syrian experience.
The Imagination Interviews
The “Surreal Hell” That Made Tahar Ben Jelloun a Writer
The Punishment is a first-person account from an author who considers writers to be "witnesses of history."
Bahey eldin Hassan, Condemned But Defiant
In 2020, Egypt's dictatorship condemns one of its most stalwart human rights activists to 15 years in prison for something he posted in a tweet.
Dear Neighbors With the Trump/Pence Sign
Novelist and poet Laila Halaby reconciles herself with the neighborhood.
Women Battle for the Soul of America
Columnist Maryam Zar argues that women will define the battle for the soul of the United States, at a time when conservative vs. liberal values literally mean the difference between life and death.
How Are You Feeling? Have the Trump Years Been Good to You?
We asked Arab and Iranian Americans how they view the Trump years and which way folks are voting.
Falastin, Sami Tamimi’s “Palestinian Modern”
N.A. Mansour reviews the tantalizing recipes in Sami Tamimi & Tara Wigley's new cookbook of Palestinian cuisine.
Why “The Red and the Blue”?
What is an arts publication doing writing about "The Red and the Blue"—colors symbolic of the divisions of a troubled nation?
Egypt—Abandoned but not Forgotten
A Land Like You gives a palpable sense of a community that could not have imagined its own uprooting out of Egypt.
World Art, Music & Zoom Beat the Pandemic Blues
Mala Halasa curates art, music, parks and politix from London…
Interlink Proposes 4 New Arab Novels
New literature translated from abroad is a cause for celebration.
Emel Mathlouthi Returns with The Tunis Diaries
The vocalist from Tunis who lives in New York was confined in Tunis and found herself "falling back in love with music that is simple, direct, and from the heart."
Bab L’Bluz Fuses Gnawa, Blues & Rock
Founded in 2018, Bab L'Bluz has just come out with a stunning debut album fusing gnawa, blues, rock and chaabi, not to be missed.
Hassan Musa exhibition in Paris / “I Love You”
Franco-Sudanese master painter Hassan Musa is the bomb.
What We’re Into
What we're reading, watching, listening to and otherwise indulging in (comments welcome).