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By Hatem Al-Shamea Introduction Fikria Shihra’s novel “Al-Thajjah”2020, provides a nuanced depiction of women’s lives and the complex gender dynamics within Yemeni society. Its central female characters are portrayed navigating patriarchal constraints while asserting individual desires and agency. This paper analyzes representations of women and gender relations through the lenses of feminist theory and psychoanalysis. …

Women’s Agency and Patriarchal Constraints in Fikria Shihra’s “Al-Thajjah” Read More »

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 …

Seeking Cures on Arduous Roads: Postcolonial Analysis of Healthcare and Infrastructure in Arafat Musleh’s “Exhausting Rides” Read More »

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 …

Reclaiming Language and Redefining Resistance: A Postcolonial Reading of Eman Assaedi’s ‘Excess of Joy’ Read More »

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 …

Burdened by Glory: Romanticized Memory as Postcolonial Protest in Al-Baradouni’s Abu Tamam and the Arabism of Today Read More »

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 …

Fragmented Identities: Postcolonial Alienation and the Exilic Imagination in Sameer Abdelfattah’s “Empty Box” Read More »

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 …

Uneven Modernities: A Postcolonial Analysis of Setting, Power Relations, and Cultural Identity in Al-Gharbi Emran’s Yael’s Darkness Read More »

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 »