An engaging collection of contemporary short stories from various Arabic countries develops students’ mastery of literary analysis and cultural awareness
Aswat Mu’asira introduces advanced level students to contemporary short stories from across the Middle East. Fifty-five stories in Arabic from twenty countries engage students with current topics and literary approaches that open the door to discovering both established and emerging authors and literary traditions. The book includes voices from often overlooked Arabic-speaking countries and peoples, giving readers the opportunity to broaden their understanding of Arabic cultures.
While most Arabic literature textbooks include only excerpts of longer works, the short stories in this collection are designed to be read in one sitting, giving students the opportunity to immerse themselves in a complete piece of literature. Stories are organized into chapters based on their country of origin. Each story is preceded by an author biography and followed by exercises to help students practice vocabulary and comprehension, explore the literary tradition, and master literary analysis.
Scholars of Arabic literature will also welcome these new stories, many of which are available outside the Middle East for the first time in this collection and expand the understanding of the short story and of contemporary literature from this important region.
Table of Contents
FOREWORD BY ROGER ALLEN
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1 [JORDAN]
[ABOUT JORDAN] #
: [NIZAR HUSSAIN RASHID: A LIGHTED WINDOW]
: [AYMAN DARWISH: THE KINGDOM OF SILENCE]
: [NIZAR HUSSAIN RASHID: SHADOW OF A WOMAN]
CHAPTER 2 [UAE]
[ABOUT THE UAE]
: [SHARIFA AL HINAI: THE HEAT]
: [MANAR AL HINAI: FROM LOVE THAT KILLED KHALFAN]
: [SANAA HUSSEIN AL-MARZOUKI: YOUR PRESENCE]
CHAPTER 3 [BAHRAIN]
[ABOUT BAHRAIN]
: [ABDULLAH KHALIFA: BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS]
: [HAMDA KHAMIS: IN THE REHAB OF SOLITUDE]
CHAPTER 4 [ALGERIA]
[ABOUT ALGERIA]
: [ISSA BIN MAHMOUD: RITE OF WRATH]
: [MUHAMMAD AL-SALEH QARF: A SENSE OF PLACE]
: [SOBHA BGHORA: TEARS WITH A HEARTBEAT]
CHAPTER 5 [SAUDI ARABIA]
[ABOUT SAUDI ARABIA]
: [ZAINAB HEFNI: A WOMAN ON THE CRATER OF A VOLCANO]
: [MAJED SULEIMAN: A CHILDHOOD WOVEN BY A GRANDFATHER'S PROPHECY]
: [MOHAMMED AL-RASHIDI: SPIT]
CHAPTER 6 [SUDAN]
[ABOUT SUDAN]
: [ABDEL AZIZ BARAKA SAKEN: TEETH DO NOT SING]
: [EMAD AL-BLAIK: THE HOLY CAT]
: [ADEL YOUSSEF: AL-BASAS'S MANUSCRIPT AFTER HIS LAST NIGHTMARE]
CHAPTER 7 [SOMALIA]
[ABOUT SOMALIA]
: [KHADIJA SHUKRI: LET'S KEEP THE DOOR AJAR AFTER EVERY IDEA, AS THERE ARE DEGREES OF COLORS]
: [NORA MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM: I HATE THAT WOMAN]
: [HAIFA HUSSEIN ABED: A DEFERRED HATE MESSAGE]
CHAPTER 8 [IRAQ]
[ABOUT IRAQ]#
: [MUHAMMAD ALWAN JABR: THE HISTORY OF A CHARIOT]
: [ABDUL-JABBAR AL-HAMDI: MAY I HAVE A GLASS OF WHISKEY?]
CHAPTER 9 [KUWAIT]
[ABOUT KUWAIT]
: [TASNEEM YAHYA AL HABIB: THE SMELL OF MEMORY]
: [LAILA AL-OTHMAN: THE ABAYA HAS ANOTHER FACE]
: [REHAB AL-HINDI: THE DELIRIUM OF A HALF-SANE WOMAN]
CHAPTER 10 [MOROCCO]
[ABOUT MOROCCO]
: [MUHAMMAD AL-BALI: BETRAYED HIS LIFE]
: [ABDUL-JABBAR AL-ALAMI: THE MILL]
: [ZAHRAT EZZ: A MIDNIGHT NIGHTMARE]
CHAPTER 11 [YEMEN]
[ABOUT YEMEN]
: [NADIA KAWKABANI: THE TROUBLES]
: [HANAN AL-WADI'I: THERE ARE MANY CHANCES TO DIE]
: [MOHIELDIN GERMA: STOLEN MOMENTS]
CHAPTER 12 [TUNISIA]
[ABOUT TUNISIA]
: [ZAHREH ZAHIR: SPACE FOR A DREAM]
: [IBRAHIM DARGHOUTI: HEAVEN'S APPLES]
CHAPTER 13 [SYRIA]
[ABOUT SYRIA]
: [ZAKARIA TAMER: TIGERS ON THE TENTH DAY]
: [SALWA AL NUAIMI: PROOF OF HONEY]
: [JAMIL TAMAL: THE GIRL IN THE WHITE STRAW HAT]
CHAPTER 14 [OMAN]
[ABOUT OMAN]
: [LAILA AL BALUSHI: A GIRL NAMED RAWYA]
: [ZOUINA AL TOWAYH: PHOTOS AND DETAILS]
: [MUHAMMAD BIN ABDUL RAHMAN KART AL JAZMI: WAVES DO NOT CALM DOWN]
CHAPTER 15 [PALESTINE]
[ABOUT PALESTINE]
: [MAHMOUD SHUKAIR: PEOPLE OF THE HOUSE]
: [NIDIA KAYALI': I SAW IT IN YOUR CUP]
CHAPTER 16 [QATAR]
[ABOUT QATAR]
: [DALAL KHALIFA: IN MY POCKET]
: [JAMAL FAYEZ: THE WOODEN DOOR]
: [JAMAL FAYEZ: THE SHADOW IS BURNING]
CHAPTER 17 [LEBANON]
[ABOUT LEBANON]
:
: [MICHAEL NAIMA: THE SWORD AND THE REED]
CHAPTER 18 [LIBYA]
[ABOUT LIBYA]#
: [AMAL FARAJ AL-AYADI: WET CURD]
: [AMAL FARAJ AL-AYADI: A TALE OF TOMATOES, COTTON, AND EMPTINESS]
: [RADWAN ABU SHWEISHA: IT'S ELEVEN O'CLOCK, THIEVES TIME]
CHAPTER 19 [EGYPT]
[ABOUT EGYPT]
: [NAGUIB MAHFOUZ: THE WISDOM OF DEATH]
: [MAMDOUH RIZK: PLAYING WITH BUBBLES]
: [AIDA BADR: THE BRIDGE]
CHAPTER 20 [MAURITANIA]
[ABOUT MAURITANIA]
: [UMM KULTHUM AL-MAALI: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SALESWOMAN]
: [AHMED OULD ASLAM: THE FUGITIVE FRAGRANCE]
: [GAMAL OULD MOHAMED OMAR: COMA]
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Reviews
"Aswat Muasira is a welcome resource for advanced students of Arabic language and literature. Elbousty has carefully selected short stories that showcase a wide range of aesthetics, themes, and regional realities. The exercises nurture the close reading skills and interactive, communicative learning essential for a meaningful encounter with literature."—Johanna Sellman, assistant professor, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, The Ohio State University
"While the initial development of the short story genre may have been focused on what one might call the "central regions" of the broader Arabic-speaking world—Syro-Lebanon and Egypt—cultural movements, publication outlets, and calls for change and innovation now emerged in force "from the Ocean to the Gulf." They revealed by the beginning of the twenty-first century a remarkable level of literary creativity and experimentation. It is this moment that Jonas Elbousty's collection Aswat muasira: Short Stories for Advanced Arabic so effectively illustrates. In this book, readers can savor the modern Arabic short story in all its varieties—regional, topical, structural, and stylistic."—Roger Allen, emeritus professor, University of Pennsylvania; award-winning translator; from the introduction
"A masterfully curated collection of short stories on a range of engaging themes and in an array of styles and voices. Awat Muaira places literature and cultural competence at the center of communicative language learning and prepares the student of Arabic for the leap toward near native proficiency."—Huda Fakhreddine, Associate Professor of Arabic Literature, The Univesity of Pennsylvania
About the Author
Jonas Elbousty is the director of undergraduate studies and of the Arabic Summer Abroad Program at Yale University. He has worked extensively with the Defense Language Institute and other organizations to provide training and testing services. Elbousty is the author of Media Arabic: Journalistic Discourse for Advanced Students of Arabic, the coauthor of Advanced Arabic Literary Reader, and coauthor of Vitality and Dynamism: Interstitial Dialogues of Language, Politics, and Religion in Morocco’s Literary Tradition.
