The Quarantine Philosopher Wajdi Al-Ahdal trans. by Hatem Al-Shamea Chapter One “The Great Certainties: The Origin of Every Deception” “In the Zima cemetery, the events of this novel unfold. I won’t delve into the stories of buried humans; instead, I’ll content myself with recounting an entertaining tale about a world unknown to you. I will …
The Quarantine Philosopher – Wajdi Al-Ahdal – trans. Hatem Al-Shamea Read More »
Map of Sorrow and Wind Author: Ahmed Mohamed Abdo – Egypt Translated by Hatem Al-Shamea Geography: Perhaps this patch is the skin of a cow or a buffalo! Its vastness and sprawling ends, as it is spread out and pinned to the wall of the classroom, indicates that it is most likely for a domesticated …
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The night, a café of memories, On its windows condenses The vapor of longing, Breathing joy, Metaphors of silence… ______ The night, a café of memories, Gazes surreptitiously at me, A mid-spring moon In the midst of the sky, The white thread sparkles… ______ The night, a café of memories, Weighs heavily on me, The …
The night, a café of memories – Asma’a Al-Shaibani – trans. Hatem Al-Shamea Read More »
I Named Her Fatima By Mayasa Al-Nakhlani 0 Things are often not as they appear; what our eyes see is merely the outer shell concealing another world underneath. Many times, this inner world has no connection to the apparent reality, as if the shell that formed and solidified has been influenced by the elements of …
I Named Her, Fatima – a novel written by Mayasa Al-Nakhlani – trans. Hatem Al-Shamea Read More »
Eid O night, tomorrow Celebrates my homeland, What is there now in your canopy, For the eyes of my homeland? Red stars and tears, And a lifetime in the shards, The ruins and sacrifices, The muezzin And the praying ones, Remnants upon remnants. And I, for the dawn, O night, call out, Tomorrow, O night, …
Eid – Nabilah Al-Sheikh – trans. Hatem Al-Shamea Read More »
An excerpt [Two Chapters] from Al-Gharbi Emran’s Yael’s Darkness Chapter One Sana’a The 14th century Hijri The Manuscript of Joudar It was ten o’clock in the morning. Groups of dock workers, vendors lying on the street, and the loudspeaker of a waste-truck echoed loudly. Unemployed people occupied the corners of cafes, while beggars roamed about. …
Yael’s Darkness – Al-Gharbi Emran – trans: Hatem Al-Shamea Read More »
Peaches My grandmother, with her slender figure brimming with vitality, her wide glasses partially concealing her tender features, her lone eye assisting her, casting light to protect us, indulge us. One day, as she leaned over the firewood with an axe in hand for baking bread, she bid farewell to her other eye. She always …
Peaches – by Nabilah Al-Sheikh – trans: Hatem Al-Shamea Read More »
Surprise For a stretch of time, he had been circling around me, and I, consumed by my own concerns, scarcely acknowledged his presence. Yet, his proximity escalated, his attempts to draw near adopting a veneer of friendliness. I articulated my unequivocal refusal, branding his overtures as an act of desperation. While I dismissed the situation …
Surprise – by Nabilah Al-Sheikh – trans: Hatem Al-Shamea Read More »
