London, the New Capital of Middle Eastern and North African Arts, Culture, Music, and Literature, by Malu Halasa

Culture Street mural for Grenfell Tower, with poem by Ben Okri, North Kensington, London, image courtesy of IranWire and #PaintTheChange. London-based writer Malu Halasa canvasses the Middle Eastern and North African culture scene in London, where even in lockdown, there’s still much to experience. London makes travelers think of high tea and empire. For those of us who live here and have a passion for and write about the Middle East, London has emerged, more than New York or Paris, as a capital of Arab and Iranian culture outside the region. London has emerged, more than New York or Paris, as a capital of Arab and Iranian culture outside the region. It was not always like this. In the 1990s, relatively few Middle East–related events took place in London. Yet in the past twenty years that I’ve lived here, London has been transformed. The change started taking place in the 2000s. In part, political events, 9/11, and, ten years later, the 2011 Arab Spring or Awakening, as well as the wars in between and after 2011, prompted writers, journalists, and activists to forgo the usual conversation about winners and losers of regional conflicts. Instead, we began to look to creative expression from these countries and in the diaspora for a different kind of understanding and engagement. It was an approach that continued the conversations many of us were having with the people and voices that came onto the streets and in the squares... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2021-04-19 19:22:28 UTC ]

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In Mexico, One Bookstore per 120,000 Inhabitants, by Elena Poniatowska

Pandemic Dispatches Elena Poniatowska In this column that originally appeared in La Jornada, Elena Poniatowska considers the role of editors and talks with Diego Rabasa, founder of publisher Sexto Piso. Already precarious, the pandemic lockdown has made... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-03 21:05:48 UTC ]
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In Mexico, One Bookstore per 120,000 Inhabitants, by Elena Poniatowska

Cultural Cross Sections Elena Poniatowska In this column that originally appeared in La Jornada, Elena Poniatowska considers the role of editors and talks with Diego Rabasa, founder of publisher Sexto Piso. Already precarious, the pandemic lockdown has... Continue reading at World Literature Today

[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-03 21:05:48 UTC ]
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How I’m Using Byzans to Connect With Other Book Lovers This Quarantine

Learn about Byzans, an online book club app that connects fellow readers, and participate in a book club without leaving your home. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2020-06-03 10:34:49 UTC ]
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Panel Mania: Stuck Rubber Baby by Howard Cruse

Howard Cruse’s 'Stuck Rubber Baby' is a pioneering graphic novel that explores the relationships and politics surrounding race, sex, and identity in the African-American and LGBTQ communities in the Jim Crow south. In July First Second Books will publish a new edition that will mark its 25th... Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-06-03 04:00:00 UTC ]
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For the love of language: ‘Our Riches’ celebrates reading

Kaouther Adimi’s newly translated novel weaves together fact and fiction in a story about a famous Algerian bookstore and its fiercely loyal patrons. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-06-02 10:00:04 UTC ]
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For the love of language: ‘Our Riches’ celebrates reading

Kaouther Adimi’s newly translated novel weaves together fact and fiction in a story about a famous Algerian bookstore and its fiercely loyal patrons. Continue reading at The Christian Science Monitor

[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-06-02 10:00:04 UTC ]
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For the love of language: ‘Our Riches’ celebrates reading

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[ The Christian Science Monitor | 2020-06-02 10:00:04 UTC ]
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Wayétu Moore Escapes a Civil War in Liberia. In America, She Encounters a New Kind of Danger.

“The Dragons, the Giant, the Women” is a migration memoir of separations, relocations and reunions. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2020-06-02 09:00:08 UTC ]
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Personal Space: Matt Ortile on Grindr, Sex, and Decolonization

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[ Literrary Hub | 2020-06-01 20:04:21 UTC ]
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Giuseppe Ungaretti in Oklahoma: The Old Captain’s Last Voyage, by Ivar Ivask

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[ World Literature Today | 2020-06-01 15:51:20 UTC ]
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Transworld acquires motherhood memoir from Margaret Reynolds

Transworld has bought UK and Commonwealth rights for memoir The Bright Field by Margaret Reynolds, professor of English at Queen Mary, University of London.  Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2020-06-01 08:56:53 UTC ]
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W&N to publish Moore's Hollywood memoir

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-31 19:23:49 UTC ]
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Literature on Lockdown 7: #CultureConnectsUs

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I Didn’t Have a Plan: The Millions Interviews Nick Flynn

My approach to memoir writing demands a different schedule. It may be more organized. I take notes, I write in condensed bursts. I do that with poetry also, but the process is more alchemic. It’s uncontainable. It’s fluid, I can drift in another realm. The post I Didn’t Have a Plan: The Millions... Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2020-05-29 10:00:01 UTC ]
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The Book Industry Charitable Foundation Has Never Been Busier Helping Bookstores

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[ Literrary Hub | 2020-05-29 08:48:18 UTC ]
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Faber acquires 'heart-wrenching' graphic novel about refugee camp

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[ The Bookseller | 2020-05-28 21:44:16 UTC ]
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Full Circle Bookstore: A Palace of Minds, by Yousef Khanfar

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[ World Literature Today | 2020-05-28 13:17:54 UTC ]
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BookExpo 2020: Four New Graphic Novels Bring the Buzz

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-28 04:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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WORD Bookstore and Authors Team Up for Charity

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2020-05-27 04:00:00 UTC ]
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