When Jokha al-Harthi and Marilyn Booth won the Man Booker International Prize last year, for Booth’s translation of Sayyidat al-Qamr (Celestial Bodies), many hurried to note that al-Harthi was the “first Omani woman writer” to have a book in English translation.While true, this may give the mistaken impression that there is something new about women's writing from the Gulf. But women on the peninsula have been composing sophisticated literature for centuries. Al-Khansa (575-645 AD), who was born and died on the Arabian Peninsula, is said to have been told by an admiring male writer that she was “the greatest poet among those with breasts.” Al-Khansa is said to have replied, archly: “I am the greatest poet among those with testicles, too.” Her work can be read, in vibrant translation, in James Montgomery’s Loss Sings.Prominent poet-filmmaker Nujoom Ghanem, in a 2016 interview that focused on her literary ancestors, had a similar barb: “The majority of poets in our world are male, but quantity does not make quality.” Yet among the younger generation of writers, women often dominate. In Yemen, the UAE, Kuwait, and elsewhere, emerging women writers have been flooding into writing workshops and literary seminars. Each Gulf country could have its own list of 10 women writers. Here are just a few to seek out:Raja Alem (Saudi) – Alem was the first woman to co-win the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF), for her classic Mecca novel The Doves’ Necklace (translated by Adam... Continue reading at 'British Council global'
[ British Council global | 2020-02-19 10:26:57 UTC ]
In the early 2010s I lived near a bookstore called KAYO Books, in an area of San Francisco sometimes called Tenderloin Heights. They stocked an incredible array of pulp and genre fiction: two dizzying floors of detective fiction, mysteries, westerns, schlocky movie and TV tie-ins, and erotica.... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-11-24 09:55:50 UTC ]
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“Our Journey Together" promises to capture “the greatness" of the Trump White House, but critics aren't convinced. Continue reading at HuffPost
[ HuffPost | 2021-11-20 12:07:31 UTC ]
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In her essay collection “These Precious Days,” the novelist and bookstore owner explores friendship, marriage and mortality. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-11-19 15:41:34 UTC ]
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One reader reflects on why a picture book with messages about love, perseverance, and imperfection has connected with so many readers in the last two years. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-11-18 11:37:00 UTC ]
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Fay Evans alleges a ‘striking similarity’ between the 2019 Excitable Edgar TV campaign and her 2017 book Fred the Fire-Sneezing DragonThe author of a self-published children’s book about a dragon that causes havoc with its fiery sneezes is suing John Lewis over its 2019 Christmas ad about a... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2021-11-16 14:46:45 UTC ]
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A picture book and two middle grade books introduce young people to art mediums and their messages. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-11-12 21:41:23 UTC ]
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Comics creator Rachel Smythe has the #5 book in the country with 'Lore Olympus, Vol. 1.' Plus YouTube science educator Philipp Dettmer lands two spots below with 'Immune,' and 'Aaron Slater, Illustrator,' the latest Questioneers book by Andrea Beaty and David Roberts, tops our picture book list. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-11-12 05:00:00 UTC ]
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Founded in October 2009 by Rebecca Fitting and Jessica Stockton Bagnulo, Greenlight Bookstore is an independent bookstore in Brooklyn, New York. Combining the best traditions of the neighborhood bookstore with carefully curated, community-minded events, Greenlight has earned a reputation as a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-11-11 09:49:39 UTC ]
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“How War Changed Rondo,” a picture book by the Ukrainian artists Romana Romanyshyn and Andriy Lesiv, captures the unrelenting destructiveness of wartime as a young person experiences it. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-11-05 04:04:43 UTC ]
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The Nigerian writer explains the origins of his latest book’s title, why novels are harder to write than plays, and the masochistic pull of political activism. Continue reading at New Yorker
[ New Yorker | 2021-11-02 22:37:29 UTC ]
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Rebecca Fitting, co-owner of Brooklyn’s Greenlight Bookstore, is leaving the store she cofounded with Jessica Stockton-Bagnulo 12 years ago, and has sold her stake in the business to Stockton-Bagnulo. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2021-10-29 04:00:00 UTC ]
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News and Events (c) Rama, Cc-by-sa-2.0-fr NORMAN, OKLA. – World Literature Today, the University of Oklahoma’s award-winning magazine of international literature and culture, announced late Tuesday evening that Boubacar Boris Diop is the 27th... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-10-26 21:56:54 UTC ]
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HarperCollins Children's Books has signed a new four-book deal with picture book creator Emma Chichester Clark. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-26 17:42:17 UTC ]
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Benjamin Zephaniah is writing a “powerfully moving” picture book about the voyage of "HMT Empire Windrush" to be published by Scholastic UK in April 2022. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2021-10-23 10:30:14 UTC ]
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Here are the best bookish things that happened this week, from library chickens to literacy funding and, of course, WonTon the bookstore cat. Continue reading at Book Riot
[ Book Riot | 2021-10-22 10:42:00 UTC ]
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This classic story of a single mother’s struggle against poverty, published in 1946, would become the first novel by a Black woman to sell a million copies. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-10-22 04:28:52 UTC ]
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The Chilean novelist was living in exile when her first novel was published in 1985. “In a way, I feel that I am working for my country, even if I don’t live there,” she told us. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 15:31:43 UTC ]
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This tale of Gilded Age New York City became, in 1921, the first novel by a woman to win the Pulitzer Prize. Continue reading at The New York Times
[ The New York Times | 2021-10-21 14:55:14 UTC ]
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Anyone who has worked in a bookstore knows only too well that moment when a customer approaches by saying, “So I don’t remember the title, or the author, but—.” And we’ve all been on the other side of the counter, trying to pinpoint something we can’t quite describe at a bookstore (“It’s a... Continue reading at Literrary Hub
[ Literrary Hub | 2021-10-21 08:55:42 UTC ]
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Essay Photo by Eileen Pan / Unsplash “Instead of a totalizing interpretation,” writes the author, translators should seek a dialogical one. “We have to leave space,” he writes, “for a story, an anecdote, a metaphorical footnote.” We all spend a... Continue reading at World Literature Today
[ World Literature Today | 2021-10-20 18:36:14 UTC ]
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