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 ]

Other news stories related to: "London, the New Capital of Middle Eastern and North African Arts, Culture, Music, and Literature, by Malu Halasa"


What You Lose as a Daughter of the Iranian Revolution

In They Said They Wanted Revolution: A Memoir of My Parents, Iranian American author and Vice journalist Neda Toloui-Semnani reconstructed the story of her parents as young, leftist Iranian activists radicalized at Berkeley in the late ’60s and who came to see communism as the political answer... Continue reading at Electric Literature

[ Electric Literature | 2022-02-08 12:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Manguso, Blake, Lavery, and More

Sarah Blake's latest post-apocalyptic novel, Mellors' satirical debut about a couple's impulsive marriage, and Lavery's speculative memoir are new this week The post Tuesday New Release Day: Starring Manguso, Blake, Lavery, and More appeared first on The Millions. Continue reading at The Millions

[ The Millions | 2022-02-08 10:59:06 UTC ]
More news stories like this


The beloved Gaza bookstore destroyed by an Israeli airstrike will open again next week.

A brief but happy update: The Bookseller has reported that Samir Mansour Bookshop, the largest bookstore in Gaza, will reopen next week after being destroyed by an Israeli airstrike last May. The reopening was made possible by a GoFundMe campaign led by human rights lawyers Mahvish Rukhsana and... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-07 16:07:29 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Esper Memoir of Trump Tenure to Move Ahead After Legal Battle Ends

The former defense secretary dropped a lawsuit against the Defense Department after it reversed decisions on what parts of his memoir were to be redacted, his lawyer said. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-02-05 17:11:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


An economist at home in many cultures

In this memoir of his early career, Amartya Sen emphasizes the rewards of an open-minded approach to the world. Continue reading at The Washington Post

[ The Washington Post | 2022-02-04 13:00:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Book Deals: Week of February 07, 2022

Former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder sells a book about voting rights to One World, Random House buys a memoir from Deadwood creator David Milch, and more. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-04 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Valerie Bertinelli’s Best-Selling Memoir Pairs Well With Crab Dip

In “Enough Already,” the veteran actor dishes about marriage, motherhood and what really matters to her right now. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-02-03 10:00:02 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Ulysses Turns 100!

On February 2, 1922, Sylvia Beach, through her legendary bookstore and occasional imprint Shakespeare and Company, published James Joyce’s modernist novel, Ulysses, in its entirety for the very first time. (It was also Joyce’s 40th birthday.) Since then, it has been banned and celebrated,... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-02-02 09:55:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Comic Book Stores Offer To Send Free Copies Of 'Maus' To Tennessee Students

A Tennessee school board removed the graphic novel about the Holocaust from middle school curriculums. Continue reading at HuffPost

[ HuffPost | 2022-02-02 08:44:58 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Scout Comics, Any Way You Want Them

Scout Comics, a small indie comics and graphic novel publisher, has grown quickly since its launch in 2015, thanks to both its list and an unusually diverse business model. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-02-02 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Kate Clanchy’s controversial memoir reissued by independent publisher

Swift Press has acquired Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me after its author and original publisher Picador ‘parted company’ last month following widespread criticism of the bookAn independent publisher, Swift Press, has acquired Kate Clanchy’s Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me,... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-02-01 10:50:18 UTC ]
More news stories like this


'Maus' ban makes Art Spiegelman's Holocaust graphic novel an Amazon bestseller

Sales of Art Spiegelman's 'Maus,' the Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic novel on the Holocaust, have risen after a Tennessee school board banned it this month. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-01-31 18:49:42 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Incredible Books By Black Authors, According To Black Bookstore Owners

Works by writers like bell hooks, Damon Young and James Baldwin that will educate and make an impact on everyone. Continue reading at HuffPost

[ HuffPost | 2022-01-31 16:37:38 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Sales of Maus Soar After a Tennessee School Board Banned the Book

Art Spiegelman’s graphic novel about the Holocaust now has several top slots on Amazon’s bestseller list. Continue reading at Slate

[ Slate | 2022-01-30 22:54:35 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Chita Rivera’s Book Will Introduce Fans to the Real Her

The Broadway star is writing a memoir with the help of a journalist who encouraged her to share what she’s really like, alter ego and all. Continue reading at The New York Times

[ The New York Times | 2022-01-28 20:55:08 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Art Spiegelman calls Tennessee schools' ban on 'Maus' 'myopic' and 'absurd'

Pulitzer Prize winner Art Spiegelman has denounced the 'absurd' removal of his graphic novel 'Maus,' about the Holocaust, from school libraries. Continue reading at Los Angeles Times

[ Los Angeles Times | 2022-01-28 20:33:57 UTC ]
More news stories like this


This unique bookstore and ranch needs a new owner (with $1.52 million to spare).

I have a terrible habit of going on the internet and looking at properties I can’t afford. (A hobby many of my fellow millennials share, I’m sure.) From my cramped Brooklyn apartment with pots of spaghetti piled haphazardly in the kitchen, I like to criticize the design choices of millionaires... Continue reading at Literrary Hub

[ Literrary Hub | 2022-01-28 19:45:49 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Win Books for Life from Bookshop.org

To mark its second anniversary, Bookshop.org, has started what it is calling the Golden Bookmark Sweepstakes, which will award one person $600 in Bookshop.org gift cards each year for life, as well as a one-time prize of $500 to donate to a bookstore of their choice. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2022-01-28 05:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Tennessee School Board Bans Graphic Novel Maus Right Before Holocaust Remembrance Day

The "Orwellian" decision to ban a graphic novel that depicts the horrors of the Holocaust was made days before Holocaust Remembrance Day. Continue reading at Book Riot

[ Book Riot | 2022-01-27 17:45:36 UTC ]
More news stories like this


Official biography of Terry Pratchett to be published

A Life With Footnotes, by the late author’s former assistant and friend, has been authorised by Pratchett’s estate and is due to be released in SeptemberRob Wilkins, Terry Pratchett’s former assistant and friend, is writing the official biography of the late Discworld author, which will move... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2022-01-26 11:21:41 UTC ]
More news stories like this