Nine Translations from Arabic Forthcoming this Month

Nine translations from the Arabic — at least, translated from the Arabic in some roundabout fashion — forthcoming this month:

1) We Have Buried the Past, by Moroccan novelist ‘Abd al-karim Ghallab, translated by Roger Allen. Forthcoming from Haus Publishing on November 19, 2018.

From the publisher:

Written after the country gained independence, the historical novel follows two generations of al-Tihamis, a well-to-do family residing in Fez’s ancient medina. The family members’ lives reflect the profound social changes taking place in Morocco during that time. Bridging two worlds, We Buried the Past begins during the quieter days of the late colonial period, a world of seemingly timeless tradition, in which the patriarch, al-Haj Muhammad, proudly presides over the family. Here, religion is unquestioned and permeates all aspects of daily life. But the coming upheaval and imminent social transition are reflected in al-Haj’s three sons, particularly his second son, Abderrahman, who eventually defies his father and comes to symbolize the break between the old ways and the new.

An endless question! Diyab, growing up in Aleppo, would have heard & read many stories, Arabic & European. He meets AG in his early 20s, while assisting tomb-raiding collector Paul Lucas. On one of their expeditions in Syria, they find a ring & a lamp in an underground vault…

Aladdin at least partly autobiographical. But even this is complicated: we know about Diyab’s life from his memoirs, recently discovered in the Vatican Lib (pub. in French 2015). But he’s writing 50 years after the facts; how much to trust his account? Time is also a translator.

Regardless of its origins, by the time it’s printed the story has passed thru so many sieves – the reading & experience of both men, HD’s performance of the story in French, AG’s own unknowable intrusions – that the question of the author (or just, authorial purity) is troubled.

4) The Fetishists, by Libyan novelist Ibrahim al-Koni, translated by William M. Hutchins. Forthcoming from University of Texas Press on November 30. 

7) Loss Sings, by James E Montgomery, with translations of poems by Saudi poet al-Khansa. Forthcoming from the Cahiers Series on November 20, 2018.

Heartbreaking, gorgeous, necessary. From a review on ArabLit:

The poems remind you of Homeric or Norse poems of valor, courage, and loss. In and of themselves, the fifteen poems express the grief of a sister for her two brothers lost in war, Muawiyah and Sakhr.  She celebrates their valor, their generosity, and their wisdom. In some ways, her loss should transcend time, and we should be able to feel her pain even now, for all of us will at some point lose a loved one. But as Montgomery admits, even though he taught her poetry, the poems have been difficult to connect with. They are filled with tropes and literary conventions which to the modern reader, in the Occident at least, appear melodramatic. Even though we understand the emotion, we find it hard to connect with; men in Western culture do not weep, for instance. If we do, we do it alone. Our way of expressing and talking about grief and loss is different from that of the ancients. Had these poems stood alone without the commentary by Montgomery, I suspect they would have been confined to the specialist.

8) The Life and Times of Abu Tammam, by Abu Bakr al-Suli, translated by Beatrice Gruendler, foreword by Terence Cave. Forthcoming from the Library of Arabic Literature on November 13, 2018.

From the publisher:

In The Life and Times of Abu Tammam, translated into English for the first time, the courtier and scholar Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Yahya al-Suli (d. 335 or 336 H/946 or 947 AD) mounts a robust defense of “modern” poetry and of Abu Tammam’s significance as a poet against his detractors, while painting a lively picture of literary life in Baghdad and Samarra. Born into an illustrious family of Turkish origin, al-Suli was a courtier, companion, and tutor to the Abbasid caliphs. He wrote extensively on caliphal history and poetry and, as a scholar of “modern” poets, made a lasting contribution to the field of Arabic literary history. Like the poet it promotes, al-Suli’s text is groundbreaking: it represents a major step in the development of Arabic poetics, and inaugurates a long line of treatises on innovation in poetry.

9) ArabLitQuarterly: Fall 2018, forthcoming from ArabLit on November 15, 2018. 

Free to Patreon supporters; details on how others can purchase on November 15.

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