Literature and Arts from the Center of the World
When friends in Abu Dhabi asked Deborah Williams how she could support MBS by going to “his” festival, she didn’t have an answer, only another question: how do we draw the lines around where we will or won’t go?
What happens when an immigrant professor dresses to impress in a bid to land tenure at a Saudi university? A short story by Waqar Ahmed paints a humorous picture.
Art critic Arie Amaya-Akkermans summons the gods of art and poetry as he reviews the life work of the late polymath Etel Adnan, 1925-2021.
In which the editor of "Poetic Justice: An Anthology of Contemporary Moroccan Poetry" remembers her introduction to life in Marrakesh.
TMR On November 15th, every year now for the last 40 years, PEN International has observed the Day of the Imprisoned Writer. With the harassment, detention, conviction and imprisonment of… Continue reading Day of the Imprisoned Writer — November 15, 2021
Marian Janssen, biographer of a forthcoming volume on the flamboyant American poet Carolyn Kizer, reviews the new memoir by former prisoner Mansoor Adayfi.
In which our columnist flies up to Thessaloniki and visits the Diavata camp for refugees seeking European asylum — no one is illegal, everyone merits a better life.
TMR reviews a film on discrimination in Israel and the original Jews of the Middle East and North Africa. The Forgotten Ones screened in October’s annual CINEMED festival in Montpellier and screens in the DOC NYC Fest on 11/09 (press screening), 11/14 and 11/15. More info.
Mischa Geracoulis interviews political historian Maria Armoudian about her newest book, Lawyers Beyond Borders, Advancing International Human Rights Through Local Laws and Courts.
Rana Asfour, Book Editor at The Markaz Review, and the TMR Bookgroup talk to author Omar El Akkad about his second novel What Strange Paradise.
A.J. Naddaff Between the Parliament and the Royal Pathway in the center of Brussels, not too far from the touristic Grand Place, there is a park with two parallel… Continue reading The Anguish of Being Lebanese: Interview with Author Racha Mounaged
From time to time, TMR reviews recent titles published in other languages, to give readers insight before they become available in English. A.J. Naddaff One of the most… Continue reading Racha Mounaged’s Debut Novel Captures Trauma of Lebanese Civil War
October marks the second anniversary of Iraq’s thawra. The non-violent Tishreen movement continues to demand all the things many of us take for granted. Tens of thousands of Iraqis have… Continue reading Iraq’s Tishreen Movement Lives, Despite Government Corruption, Oppression
Jordan Elgrably reviews the new film from the Nasser brothers, starring Hiam Abbass and Salim Daw.
Jordan Elgrably Imagine, if you will, being put on trial for publishing poems and stories extolling the values of human rights and equality — or rotting in prison as… Continue reading Kurdish Poet and Writer Meral Şimşek Merits Her Freedom