Celebrity Suicides
Celebrity suicides are in the news again. First there was Kate Spade, about whom I know two things: that she made bags, and that she hanged herself. Then there was … Continue reading
Reem Kelani: one live album, one new album Kickstarter
It’s been rather a while since I posted on here, due to various changes in direction. This post is slightly recycling insofar as I’m putting up a review of Reem … Continue reading
‘Whose Face is Huge and Wears a Hideous Expression’: On David Larsen’s Translation of ‘Names of the Lion’
My latest… a review of David Larsen’s wonderful annotated translation of Ibn Khalawayh’s ‘Names of the Lion’: ARABLIT & ARABLIT QUARTERLY Back in 2011, The Economist complained it wasn’t possible to get … Continue reading
The Palestine Hotel, Nablus
Sitting in the University Library at Cambridge, reading the sculptor Eric Gill’s diaries of his trip to Palestine in 1934 (he had been commissioned by the architect Austen St. Barbe … Continue reading
Farewell to a Painting
It was a genuine wrench to walk away from True Belief Belongs to the Realm of Real Knowledge, a huge, sublime wall-painting by Idris Khan. The Whitworth Gallery exhibition of … Continue reading
UKIP leader deletes web page calling for end of NHS
Originally posted on Pride's Purge:
(not satire – it’s the UKIP!) The UKIP is trying desperately to win votes from Labour. That’s probably why they’re doing everything they can…
New review: Jerusalem, Interrupted
Electronic Intifada, 11th January 2017 Whether Arabic or Aramaic has been the dominant tongue, or Islam, Judaism, Christianity or paganism the majority religion, the city has always been a patchwork; … Continue reading
New Samih al-Qasim anthology review
The Electronic Intifada, 3rd January 2017 The only two significant bodies of al-Qasim’s poetry available in translation were, until now, Sadder than Water, a fine bilingual edition from Jerusalem-based Ibis … Continue reading
Obituary: Deyika Nzeribe, 1966-2017
Deyika Nzeribe, who has died suddenly aged 50, , was a much-loved and respected figure in Manchester. His many admirable qualities included not just intelligence and concern about the s… … Continue reading
Hilarion Capucci: a reminder of resistance history
Hilarion ibn Bashir Capucci died today (along with a lot of other people, no doubt, probably quite a few in his home city of Aleppo). Capucci caught my attention, though, … Continue reading
AMEWS post-election position statement
ASSOCIATION FOR MIDDLE EAST WOMEN’S STUDIES (AMEWS) POST-ELECTION POSITION STATEMENT November 16, 2016 The Association for Middle East Women’s Studies (AMEWS), an affiliate of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA), … Continue reading
Bart Moore-Gilbert on the perils of translated texts
Just found in a Bart Moore-Gilbert (RIP) article on Palestine and postcolonial studies an interesting example of the risks of literature scholars working from translations. It could be read, I … Continue reading
Bats in the Museum
A couple of months ago I was furtling around in the online archives of the Rockefeller Museum, established under the British Mandate as the Palestine Archaeological Museum and run from … Continue reading
Review: Ghassan Zaqtan’s ‘Describing the Past’
The Electronic Intifada, 3rd October 2016 The theme of the unstable balance between myth and memory recurs constantly throughout the novella. “Things evaporate and die if they don’t find someone … Continue reading
Review: Salman Abu Sitta’s autobiography
The Electronic Intifada, 27th September 2016 Unlike Jawhariyyeh, al-Hout or Sayigh, Galilean hills, Lebanon and Jerusalem do not loom large in Abu Sitta’s account. Instead, his life story is rooted … Continue reading
Reviewed: Palestine Youth Orchestra in Glasgow
The Electronic Intifada, 29th July 2016 The first half of the performance closed with “Metal,” a short piece by contemporary composer Graham Fitkin, a celebratory work inspired by modern British … Continue reading
Sarah Irving 