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]
الأردن [ABOUT JORDAN] #
نزار حسين راشد: نافذة مضيئة [NIZAR HUSSAIN RASHID: A LIGHTED WINDOW]
أيمن دراوشة: مملكة الصمت [AYMAN DARWISH: THE KINGDOM OF SILENCE]
نزار حسين راشد: ظل امرأة [NIZAR HUSSAIN RASHID: SHADOW OF A WOMAN]
CHAPTER 2 [UAE]
الأمارات العربية المتحدة [ABOUT THE UAE]
شريفة الهنائي: القيظ [SHARIFA AL HINAI: THE HEAT]
منار الهنائي: من الحب ما قتل خلفان [MANAR AL HINAI: FROM LOVE THAT KILLED KHALFAN]
سناء حسين المرزوقي: وجودك [SANAA HUSSEIN AL-MARZOUKI: YOUR PRESENCE]
CHAPTER 3 [BAHRAIN]
البحرين [ABOUT BAHRAIN]
عبد الله خليفة: وراء الجبال [ABDULLAH KHALIFA: BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS]
حمدة خميس: في رحاب العزلة [HAMDA KHAMIS: IN THE REHAB OF SOLITUDE]
CHAPTER 4 [ALGERIA]
الجزائر [ABOUT ALGERIA]
عيسى بن محمود: طقوس الغضب [ISSA BIN MAHMOUD: RITE OF WRATH]
محمد الصالح قارف: إحساس بالمكان [MUHAMMAD AL-SALEH QARF: A SENSE OF PLACE]
صبحة بغورة: دموع على خفقات القلب [SOBHA BGHORA: TEARS WITH A HEARTBEAT]
CHAPTER 5 [SAUDI ARABIA]
المملكة العربية السعودية [ABOUT SAUDI ARABIA]
زينب حفني: امرأة على فوهة البركان [ZAINAB HEFNI: A WOMAN ON THE CRATER OF A VOLCANO]
ماجد سليمان: طفولة منسوجة بنبوءة الجد [MAJED SULEIMAN: A CHILDHOOD WOVEN BY A GRANDFATHER’S PROPHECY]
محمد الراشدي: رذاذ [MOHAMMED AL-RASHIDI: SPIT]
CHAPTER 6 [SUDAN]
السودان [ABOUT SUDAN]
عبد العزيز بركة ساكن: أسنان لا تُغَني [ABDEL AZIZ BARAKA SAKEN: TEETH DO NOT SING]
عماد البليك: القط المقدس [EMAD AL-BLAIK: THE HOLY CAT]
عادل يوسف: مخطوطة البصاص بعد كابوسه الآخير [ADEL YOUSSEF: AL-BASAS’S MANUSCRIPT AFTER HIS LAST NIGHTMARE]
CHAPTER 7 [SOMALIA]
الصومال [ABOUT SOMALIA]
خديجة شكري: لنبق الباب موارباً بعد كل فكرة فهناك درجات من الألوان [KHADIJA SHUKRI: LET’S KEEP THE DOOR AJAR AFTER EVERY IDEA, AS THERE ARE DEGREES OF COLORS]
نورا محمد إبراهيم: أكره تلك المرأة [NORA MUHAMMAD IBRAHIM: I HATE THAT WOMAN]
هيفاء حسين عبد: رسالة كراهية مؤجلة [HAIFA HUSSEIN ABED: A DEFERRED HATE MESSAGE]
CHAPTER 8 [IRAQ]
العراق [ABOUT IRAQ]#
محمد علوان جبر: تاريخ عربة [MUHAMMAD ALWAN JABR: THE HISTORY OF A CHARIOT]
عبد الجبار الحمدي: هل لي بكأس من الويسكي [ABDUL-JABBAR AL-HAMDI: MAY I HAVE A GLASS OF WHISKEY?]
CHAPTER 9 [KUWAIT]
الكويت [ABOUT KUWAIT]
تسنيم يحيى الحبيب: رائحة الذكرى [TASNEEM YAHYA AL HABIB: THE SMELL OF MEMORY]
ليلى العثمان: للعباءة وجه أخر [LAILA AL-OTHMAN: THE ABAYA HAS ANOTHER FACE]
رحاب الهندي: هذيان امرأة نصف عاقلة [REHAB AL-HINDI: THE DELIRIUM OF A HALF-SANE WOMAN]
CHAPTER 10 [MOROCCO]
المغرب [ABOUT MOROCCO]
محمد البالي: خانت حياته [MUHAMMAD AL-BALI: BETRAYED HIS LIFE]
عبد الجبار العلمي: الطاحونة [ABDUL-JABBAR AL-ALAMI: THE MILL]
زهرة عز: كابوس منتصف الليل [ZAHRAT EZZ: A MIDNIGHT NIGHTMARE]
CHAPTER 11 [YEMEN]
اليمن [ABOUT YEMEN]
نادية الكوكباني: المشاغبات [NADIA KAWKABANI: THE TROUBLES]
حنان الوادعي: فرص كثيرة للموت [HANAN AL-WADI'I: THERE ARE MANY CHANCES TO DIE]
محيي الدين جرمة: لحظات مختلسة [MOHIELDIN GERMA: STOLEN MOMENTS]
CHAPTER 12 [TUNISIA]
تونس [ABOUT TUNISIA]
زهرة ظاهري: مساحةُ حلم [ZAHREH ZAHIR: SPACE FOR A DREAM]
ابراهيم درغوثي: تفاح الجنة [IBRAHIM DARGHOUTI: HEAVEN'S APPLES]
CHAPTER 13 [SYRIA]
سوريا [ABOUT SYRIA]
زكريا تامر: النمور في اليوم العاشر [ZAKARIA TAMER: TIGERS ON THE TENTH DAY]
سلوى النعيمي: برهان العسل [SALWA AL NUAIMI: PROOF OF HONEY]
جميل حتمل: الطفلة ذات القبعة البيضاء من القش [JAMIL TAMAL: THE GIRL IN THE WHITE STRAW HAT]
CHAPTER 14 [OMAN]
عمان [ABOUT OMAN]
ليلى البلوشي: فتاة اسمها راوية [LAILA AL BALUSHI: A GIRL NAMED RAWYA]
زوينة آل تويه: صور وتفاصيل [ZOUINA AL TOWAYH: PHOTOS AND DETAILS]
محمد بن عبد الرحمن قرط الجزمي: أمواج لا تهدأ [MUHAMMAD BIN ABDUL RAHMAN KART AL JAZMI: WAVES DO NOT CALM DOWN]
CHAPTER 15 [PALESTINE]
فلسطين [ABOUT PALESTINE]
محمود شقير: أهل البيت [MAHMOUD SHUKAIR: PEOPLE OF THE HOUSE]
نداء كيالي: رأيتها في فنجانك [NIDIA KAYALI': I SAW IT IN YOUR CUP]
CHAPTER 16 [QATAR]
قطر [ABOUT QATAR]
دلال خليفة: في جيبي [DALAL KHALIFA: IN MY POCKET]
جمال فايــز: الباب الخشبي [JAMAL FAYEZ: THE WOODEN DOOR]
هدى النعيمي: الظل يحترق [JAMAL FAYEZ: THE SHADOW IS BURNING]
CHAPTER 17 [LEBANON]
لبنان [ABOUT LEBANON]
عواطف الزين: الفارس
ميخائيل نعيمة: السيف والقصبة [MICHAEL NAIMA: THE SWORD AND THE REED]
CHAPTER 18 [LIBYA]
ليبيا [ABOUT LIBYA]#
آمال فرج العيادي: ثارة بلل [AMAL FARAJ AL-AYADI: WET CURD]
آمال فرج العيادي: طماطم حكية وقطن وفراغ [AMAL FARAJ AL-AYADI: A TALE OF TOMATOES, COTTON, AND EMPTINESS]
رضوان أبو شويشة: الساعة الحادية عشر بتوقيت اللصوص [RADWAN ABU SHWEISHA: IT'S ELEVEN O'CLOCK, THIEVES TIME]
CHAPTER 19 [EGYPT]
مصر [ABOUT EGYPT]
نجيب محفوظ: حكمة الموت [NAGUIB MAHFOUZ: THE WISDOM OF DEATH]
ممدوح رزق: اللعب بالفقاعات [MAMDOUH RIZK: PLAYING WITH BUBBLES]
عايدة بدر: الجسر [AIDA BADR: THE BRIDGE]
CHAPTER 20 [MAURITANIA]
موريتانيا [ABOUT MAURITANIA]
ام كلثوم المعلي: يوم في حياة بائعة [UMM KULTHUM AL-MAALI: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A SALESWOMAN]
احمد ولد اسلم: العبق الهارب [AHMED OULD ASLAM: THE FUGITIVE FRAGRANCE]
جمال ولد محمد عمر: الغيبوبة [GAMAL OULD MOHAMED OMAR: COMA]
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Reviews
"Aswat Muʿasira 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 muʿasira: 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
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"A masterfully curated collection of short stories on a range of engaging themes and in an array of styles and voices. As̩wat Muʿas̩ira 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.
