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safiyadaydreams · 1 year

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• Palestinian literature recommendations - small books with a big impact •

Here’s a few recommendations for short reads. If you’re looking for small books to help you reach your reading goal before the end of the year or for when you need a shorter read to suit your time, these are all fairly quick reads but very impactful.

All Palestinian literature. Most of these recommendations are short story collections and mostly translated from Arabic. They each show the different ways the Israeli occupation has affected Palestinians. From the start of the Nakba, to the blockaded Gaza Strip, to Palestinians refugees in the diaspora.

* Shatila Stories published by Peirene Press, nine contributors (Palestinian and Syrian): Omar Khaled Ahmad, Nibal AlAlow, Safa Khaled Algharbawi, Omar Abdellatif Alndaf, Rayan Mohamad Sukkar, Safiya Badran, Fatima Omar Ghazawi, Samih Mahmoud, Hiba Mareb. Translated by Nashwa Gowanlock

* Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories by Ghassan Kanafani, translated by Hilary Kilpatrick

* The Sea Cloak and Other Stories by Nayrouz Qarmout, translated by Perween Richards

* Minor Detail by Adania Shibli, translated by Elisabeth Jaquette

* The Book of Ramallah edited by Maya Abu Al-Hayat, various translators

Have you read any of these? Are there others any you would add to the list or recommend me to read? The Book of Gaza is one I have on my radar that I want to read at some point.

🇵🇸🇵🇸🇵🇸

#palestine #palestinian literature #book recommendations #bookblr #bookworm #bookish #ghassan kanafani #translated literature #short stories #short fiction #Arab literature #book list

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minsulies · 9 months

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hii!! does anyone have any recommendations Arab literature/poem books? thank you in advance! ♡

#arab literature #arab poetry #arab poems #book recommendations #books #literature #poem #reading #arab books

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nanamins-overtime · 1 year

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و لا ملت عيني النظر إليك لأنك نورهما

My eyes are never tired of looking at you, for you are their light

Khalil Gibran - The broken wings

#quotes #literature #love #romance #cute #poetry #beauty #khalil gibran #the broken wings #arabic poem #arab #arab literature #eyes #poem #reading

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7adreen · 1 year

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“Through galaxies of stars and planets,” by Mona Saudi from Women of the Fertile Crescent: an anthology of modern poetry by Arab women (1978)

#Mona Saudi #Women of the Fertile Crescent : an anthology of modern poetry by Arab women #70s #poetry #arab literature

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flowerish-cherry-blue · 1 year

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book review: layla and majnun by nizami ganjavi | 1192

summary:

the origin of the sad tale of majnun and layla dates back to antiquity. the legend of their love, originally developed on arab ground, subsequently became widespread throughout the muslim east among many peoples. over time, this story acquired rights in iran, central asia, and azerbaijan. the images of majnun and layla unceasingly haunted the imagination of many poets, but it was nizami ganjavi whose immortal work has contributed to an even greater spread of the tragic love story of layla and majnun.

my opinion:

i want to start by saying that the book itself may not be as bad as i would have thought it was, but the problem lies in the translation. i will sincerely say that colin turner's translation is terrible, i thought my reading would end when i saw the word "ok" in the translation. really? "ok" in an adaptation of a 12th century work?

so most likely my score is so low due to the failure of the translator, alas i couldn't find james atkinson's translation.

but if we go straight to the book, i would say it's not bad, judging by the work of the author and not the translator.

the first thing i thought of was romeo and juliet from the 12th century, and then it wasn't that bad. but then it went on to become a total exaggeration. qays became so obsessed with love that he became, roughly speaking, insane. probably today he could even be called a stalker.

i mean he was offered help, he accepted it, he was given food and water and all cleaned up, and then he brought up his doomed love again and turned away from everyone. it even seemed a little mercenary to me.

it also shown that layla suffers too, and just to compare what the position of girls in the east was in those days: she was forbidden to see her lover, and her tears were considered a disease, she was forcibly married off and her husband harassed her.

their love was doomed just because of the it － the love was so strong that it drove the man mad.

speaking of the good side, i think of the following:

• we were shown the torment of the lovers, that is, it was not dry material, but filled with action;

• no matter how it sounds, we were shown the power of love, what it can lead to and what it motivates people to do;

• it was interesting to see the euphemism of belief underneath of love, cause love is as strong as belief.

• how trust and resilience are played out. layla's father, even after the defeat of his troops, still refused to give up his daughter because he understood that he would burden her with an unhappy life.

• as well as majnun's trust in his friend, and his loyalty, eagerness to help the young man reunite with his beloved.

and to summarize, i can say that the book is not that bad, but it will probably be difficult to understand for modern people, just as it was difficult for me. there is a thin line between belief, love and madness, which the characters could have crossed any minute. but i was probably satisfied with the ending, even as death separated them, perhaps it will give them some privacy.

my rating:

2.8/5

two lovers lie sleeping in this tomb,

united at last in death’s dark womb.

faithful in separation, true in love:

one heart, one soul in heaven above.

#book review #nizami ganjavi #layla and majnun #literature #arab literature #persian literature #fiction #novel #books

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tendermimi · 8 months

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Bilal Al-Shams, Sacrifice

#bilal al shams #poetry #poem #words #writings #excerpts #quotes #arabic poetry #arabic literature #sooo Agustín Gómez-Arcos

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mysterieuxclairdelune · 1 year

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{Hannah Green, from "Are you still hungry, Mother?"/ Anne Carson/Sam Gordon, "A Mother's Hate"/ Ella Wilson/ Joan Tierney/ Ella Wilson/ Ocean Vuong, from On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous/ Unknown/ Nayyirah Waheed/ Sharon Olds, “Holding To A Wall, Treading Saltwater”/ John Green, Turtles All the Way Down/ Safia Elhillo, "an inheritance," published in Narrative Northeast/ Annie Ernaux, from I Remain in Darkness/ Poplar Street by Chen Chen/ Unknown/ Tumblr User: @inkskinned/ Elena Poniatowska, from "La Flor de Lis," published c. January 2011/ Kyung-Sook Shin, Please Look After Mom}

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fairydrowning · 2 years

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Love letter from 1913 that opens up to form an art gallery.

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eternal-gardens · 2 months

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And perhaps whatever you hope for will come true.

#eternal-gardens #hope #optimism #arabic translation #literature

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nashra · 1 year

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‎ثم تصل إلى النقطة التي لم تعد فيها بحاجة إلى أي شيء سوى الهدوء

Then you reach the point where you no longer need anything, but calm

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safiyadaydreams · 1 year

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My top ten reads of 2022

Memoirs

🌼 Head Above Water by Shahd Alshammari

🌼 The Return by Hisham Matar

🌼 How I Survived a Chinese ‘Re-Education Camp’ by Gulbahar Haitiwaji and Rozenn Morgat, translated by Edward Gauvin

Fiction

🌼 Discretion by Faïza Guène, translated by Sarah Ardizzone

🌼 What Strange Paradise by Omar El Akkad

🌼 As Long As the Lemon Trees Grow by Zoulfa Katouh

🌼 No Land to Light On by Yara Zgheib

Short Stories

🌼 Shatila Stories published by Peirene Press, nine contributors: Omar Khaled Ahmad, Nibal AlAlow, Safa Khaled Algharbawi, Omar Abdellatif Alndaf, Rayan Mohamad Sukkar, Safiya Badran, Fatima Omar Ghazawi, Samih Mahmoud, Hiba Mareb. Translated by Nashwa Gowanlock

🌼 Manchester Happened by Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi

🌼 The Sea Cloak and Other Stories by Nayrouz Qarmout, translated by Perween Richards

#bookblr #translated literature #short stories #memoirs #contemporary fiction #ya fiction #arab literature #favorite books #book recommendations #book reccs

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sapphopilled · 2 years

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work song by hozier / mahmoud darwish

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nanamins-overtime · 1 year

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و سلمى - سلمى الجميلة العذبة قد ذهبت إلى ما وراء الشفق ال الأزرق و لم يبق من اثرها في هذا ال عالم سوى غصات ال يمية في قلبي و قبر ر جا مي منتصب في ظلال أشجار السرو. فذ الك القبر و هذا القلب هما كل ما بقي ليحدث الوجود عنها.

"And my beloved, beautiful, is dead, and nothing is left to commemorate her except my broken heart and a tomb surrounded by cypress trees. That tomb and this heart are all that is left to bear her witness."