Why have the Lebanese protests gotten so little coverage? How does an Egyptian media outlet reflect on its own role while withstanding repression? Plus, five new interviews with the late poet Mahmoud Darwish.
Read MoreView of Bulaq quarter, Cairo. HAY, Robert, Esq. Illustrations of Cairo, London, Tilt and Bogue, 1840.
BULAQ: The Arab world in books
The latest episodes of BULAQ are available on the Sowt website. You can subscribe to the podcast using this RSS feed or on iTunes.
BULAQ is a podcast about contemporary writing from and about the Middle East and North Africa. It looks at the Arab region through the lens of literature and at literature through the lens of current events.
BULAQ is co-hosted by Ursula Lindsey and M Lynx Qualey. Its first season was produced by Issandr El Amrani. It is now co-produced with the Sowt network in Amman.
BULAQ is named after a neighborhood of Cairo that hosted the first active printing press in the region. Established in 1820, the Bulaq Press put out its first publication, an Italian-Arabic dictionary, in 1822.
MLQ is a book critic, editor, ghostwriter, and literary consultant with a focus on Arab and Arabic literatures, particularly as they intersect with translation. She runs the blog ArabLit.
Ursula is a journalist and book critic who writes about education, literature, and politics in the Arab world. She contributes to The New York Review of Books, The Nation, the New York Times, The Point and The Arabist blog.
Both Ursula and MLQ spent many years living in Cairo and in Rabat, Morocco. Today Ursula lives in Amman and the podcast is a long-distance conversation.
We pay a tribute to the late poet Amjad Nassar and discuss the responsibilities of writers who are also public intellectuals, particularly the role that a prominent Moroccan-French novelist, Leila Slimani, has played in a debate over personal freedoms in Morocco.
Read MoreWe discussed a picaresque, surprisingly joyful tale set in an evacuated village during the Iran-Iraq war; and the TV adaption of a noir set in Baghdad during the US occupation. We also looked at how reviews of Arabic literature in translation have evolved. MLQ got to settle an old grudge with John Updike.
Read MoreWe talk about two festivals (one long-established, one brand new) that celebrate Palestinian literature; an author who was penalize for supporting the boycott of Israel; and a book that asks the question: What would happen if the Palestinians simply disappeared?
Read MoreUrsula & MLQ open the new season of BULAQ with a focus on Egypt, where protests against the Sisi regime have been violently suppressed.
Read MoreIn our last episode before half our team moves and we take a summer break, we discuss a brilliant essay on the downsides of being a professional translator; the Shubbak literary festival; and what our plans for the future.
Read MoreWe have novelist Ruqaya Izziddien as our guest in this episode, to discuss her debut novel The Watermelon Boys, her blog Muslim Impossible and the need for more narratives in English that accurately represent Arab voices and history. We also talk about George Orwell’s 1939 essay “Marrakech.”
Read MoreWe spend most of today’s episode talking about a forthcoming collection of essays by female journalists from the region. Guilt, anger, recklessness, determination. There are many different and movingly honest takes on reporting while Arab and female.
Read MoreThis week we talk about passion projects, the value of intellectual labor, and the ups and downs of making a living (sort of) writing about books.
Read MoreMLQ is back from Abu Dhabi, and we talk about the recently awarded International Prize for Arabic Fiction — and an unfortunate controversy this year, involving leaks, no-shows, and calls for prosecution — and the book fair. We also share excerpts from the winning book and from several of the short-listed ones.
Read MoreWe talk about the career of the best-selling Egyptian novelist Alaa al-Aswany – who like many other artists is on the outs with the country’s military regime now. Also, about Shakespeare productions and censorship in Gulf countries; and book reviews in the age of online algorithms and the culture of positivity.
Read MoreIn this episode we rave about an Omani novel – a multi-generational saga that is “anti-romantic and anti-nationalistic.” We also discuss a dark family road trip through Syria, and works from Lebanon and Morocco. And we delve into the larger question of how much a writer’s identity and experience gives him or her the right, or the ability, to tell certain stories.
Read MoreWe spend most of this episode discussing the work and life of the Syrian playwright Sa’dallah Wannous, and how strongly it relates to repression, resistance and art in the Arab region today.
Read MoreWhat should you recommend to someone who is interested in exploring Arabic literature? We tackle this big question this week; we also talk about the authors short-listed on the International Prize for Arabic Fiction and about North African literature in English translation.
Read MoreWe’re back! And ready to talk about two poets who have moved into prose: the Egyptian Iman Mersal and the Palestinian Mazen Maarouf, who have written books that explore the bonds between children and parents, among other things. We also talk about the Cairo book fair’s recent make-over, and about the vibrant but struggling cultural scene in Casablanca.
Read MoreUrsula and MLQ look back at notable books from 2018 and at reads they are looking forward to catching up on over the holiday break.
Read MoreThis episode is almost entirely dedicated to the work of the Moroccan film-maker, novelist, artist, and poet Ahmed Bouanani – much of which has yet to be released, and much of which was censored or destroyed in his own life.
Read MoreWe overcame communication blocks and interrupting children to speak to the poet Zeina Hashem Beck about how she’s given herself permission to write poems that move between English and Arabic. We also discuss James Montgomery’s heart-breaking essay on grief, memory, trauma and translating a 7th century Arabic poet famous for her elegies.
Read MoreIn this episode we talk about recent developments in Cairo, kids’ literature in Arabic, Naguib Mahfouz, and the launch of Marcia’s new project, the literary magazine ArabLit Quarterly .
Read MoreThis week we talk to an old Cairo friend, acclaimed Egyptian artist Ganzeer, about art, propaganda, publishing and how much damn work it is to put out a graphic novel.
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BULAQ on Twitter
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This is amazing. https://t.co/4S9eh0PKdB -
So sorry to hear this. Blake was one of the original American bloggers who developed an interest in the MENA region… https://t.co/FUxJd9E9qF