a poem by Eman Assaeedi illusion, I thought the poem was an impenetrable wall that would not be held by the gloom of the loin. And that war will not reproduce in a cradle of an arc of joy. And that the grass is the extension of spring, whose door the hand of the wind …
By Entesar Asseri She rushed with excitement to the toy store and started picking out lots of toys. She wanted them all so badly. When it came time to pay, she suddenly remembered she was barren! Translated by Hatem Al-Shamea
By Hatem Al-Shamea Assistant Professor of English Literature University of Reading, UK. ——————————————————————– Introduction In his expansive 2009 work The Paradox of Photography, philosopher and aesthetics scholar Pierre Taminiaux explores the multilayered and seemingly contradictory nature of photography as a medium. Weaving together philosophical inquiry with close visual analyses, Taminiaux’s study delves into the ontological, …
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By Hatem Al-Shamea Assistant Professor of English Literature, University of Reading, UK. ——————————————– Introduction Arafat Musleh is a Yemeni short story writer. He lives in the USA. His short story “Exhausting Rides,” translated from Arabic by Hatem Al-Shamea, offers a poignant glimpse into the struggles of a poor family in rural Yemen seeking treatment for …
By Hatem Al-Shamea Assistant Professor of English Literature University of Reading, UK. Introduction Eman Assaedi is a contemporary Yemeni poet. Her free verse poem “Excess of Joy” offers a multilayered reflection on the themes of disillusionment, conflict, mortality, and poetry’s redemptive power in the aftermath of trauma. Much like Charles Baudelaire’s pioneering work in the …
By Hatem Al-Shamea Assistant Professor of English Literature, University of Reading, UK ————————————– Introduction Abdullah Al-Baraddouni (1929–1999), the visually impaired poet of Yemen, rose from humble beginnings to become one of the Arab world’s most celebrated modern poets. Born in 1929 in the rural village of Zirajah, the young Al-Baraddouni was robbed of his sight …
By Hatem Al-Shamea Assistant Professor of English Literature University of Reading, UK. Fragmented Identities: Postcolonial Alienation and the Exilic Imagination in Sameer Abdelfattah’s “Empty Box” Introduction In the enigmatic modernist short story “Empty Box,” Yemeni author Sameer Abdelfattah skillfully encapsulates the psychic dislocation and fractured subjectivity of exile. Abdelfattah’s avant-garde narrative offers insight into what …
By Hatem Al-Shamea Assistant Professor of English Literature, University of Reading, UK. Introduction The novel Yael’s Darkness written by Yemeni author Al-Gharbi Emran, translated by Hatem Al-Shamea, offers a vivid window into the urban environment of Sana’a through the observations of the narrator. Applying concepts from postcolonial literary theory brings into sharper focus the representations …
By Hatem Al-Shamea Assistant Professor of English Literature, University of Reading, UK Introduction Entesar Asseri’s micro-stories (taken from her collection of flash fiction, Prayer in the Embrace of Water” translated by Hatem Al-Shamea) offer intimate glimpses into the inner lives of Arabic women. Applying feminist literary theory brings gender dynamics and patriarchal norms into focus. …
Probing Patriarchy: Feminist Analysis of Entesar Asseri’s Flash Fiction Vignettes Read More »
Ahmed Abdo, the renowned Egyptian novelist and short story writer, has made significant contributions to the world of literature. Born in 1951 in the beautiful village of Barmekim in Sharqia governorate, Abdo is a member of the esteemed Egyptian Writers’ Union and the Cairo Story Club. Abdo has published numerous collections of short stories, each …
by Arafat Musleh Despite the lurch and joggle of the car on the dirt road enveloping me in a strange sense of comfort, I found myself unable to rest my head against the windowpane. I turned to my mother, who was sitting to my right, staring absently into the void, while beside her, my brother …
Al-Gharbi Emran is a renowned Yemeni novelist and short story writer. He has established himself as a prominent figure in the literary world. Born in 1958, he spent his early childhood in Yemen and Sudan before returning to Saudi Arabia in his youth and eventually making his way back to Yemen after fifteen years of …
by Isa Al-Azab Poetry is a death, and verses are its tombThe poets’ manuscripts are but memories of its doom The letter is a house that doesn’t shelter its ownIts meter and poverty, its silence leaves us alone So break the chains of poetry and leave its dwellingAbandon its gatherings and stages, let it stop …
By Fatima Wahidi Her self-esteem and unwavering confidence in her abilities were the secrets behind her certainty that her life would inevitably change for the better. She grew up among her sisters and peers, close in resemblance to them, but she always felt different. Her wish came true the day she saw him: a young, …
