Arabic Literature Discussion Group

Image for Arabic Lit Flyer The Arabic Literature Discussion Group meets at 5:30 p.m. to 6:50 p.m. on the first Monday of most months. Discussions are held in the Flatirons Meeting Room, 2nd floor of the Main Library, 11th & Arapahoe in downtown Boulder unless otherwise noted.
Note: Because COVID-19 precautions continue to be wise, we will provide remote conferencing using Jitsi if requested to do so prior to the meeting.
For more information, please contact Bill at bill4gb AT gmail DOT com, or 3.449.4136.

2025 Schedule
January 6, 2025 The American Quarter by Jabbour Douaihy (170 pages)

2024
November 4, 2024 The Bad Muslim Discount by Sayed M. Masood (345 pages)
(Note: No meeting in December.)

October 7, 2024 I Shall Not Hate: A Gaza Doctor's Journey on the Road to Peace and Human Dignity by Izzeldin Abuelaish (239 pages)
(Note: This discussion will be held along with a potluck dinner in a private home.
Contact Bill by phone or email if you wish to attend.)

(Note: Abuelaish will discuss his book at 3:45PM September 15th at the Jaipur Literature Festival.)

September 9, 2024 The Wrong End of the Telescope by Rabih Alameddine (354 pages)
(Note: This is the second Monday in September)
(Note: No meetings in July or August.)

June 3, 2024 Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz (second half of 544 pages)
May 6, 2024 Palace Walk by Naguib Mahfouz (first half of 544 pages)

April 1, 2024 The Woman Who Would Be King by Kara Cooney (Hatshepsut Biography, 277 pages)

March 4, 2024 The Twenty-Ninth Year by Hala Alyan (poetry, 81 pages)

February 5, 2024 Between Two Worlds: Escape from Tyranny: Growing Up in the Shadow of Saddam by Zainab Salbi (295 pages)
(Note: No meeting in January.)

2023
December 11, 2023 Witness in Palestine : a Jewish American woman in the occupied territories by Anna Baltzer (397 pages)
See also an example of how Arabs are treated at Israeli checkpoints: "The Present" (24 minute video)

November 6, 2023 Bitter Orange Tree by Jokha Alharthi (224 pages)

October 2, 2023 The Crusades Through Arab Eyes by Amin Maalouf (293 pages)
Note: This meeting is from 3:30 to 5:00 in the Main Library Study Room #2.

September 11, 2023 One Thousand and One Nights by Hanan al-Shaykh (306 pages)
(Note: This is the second Monday in September)

August 7, 2023 The Arab of the Future: A Childhood in the Middle East (1978-1984) by Riad Sattouf (153 page graphic novel)

July 10, 2023 A History of Islam in 21 Women by Hossein Kamaly (261 pages)
(Note: This is the second Monday in July)

June 5, 2023 Fast Times in Palestine by Pamela J. Olson (320 pages)
(author present via this Zoom link)
Note: The meeting will be in the Main Library's first floor Boulder Creek Room from 5:15 to 6:45.

May 1, 2023 If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English by Noor Naga (186 pages)

April 3, 2023 We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land by Jimmy Carter (214 pages)

March 13, 2023 Beer in the Snooker Club by Waguih Ghali (224 pages)
Plot summary from Celeste: http://sackett.net/BeerInTheSnookerClubNotes.pdf.
(Note: This is the second Monday in March)

February 6, 2023 The Sacred Night by Tahar Ben Jelloun (192 pages)
(Note: No meeting in January)

2022
November 7, 2022 The Book Collectors: A Band of Syrian Rebels and the Stories That Carried Them Through a War by Delphine Minoui (194 pages)

October 3, 2022 The Sand Child by Tahar Ben Jelloun (176 pages)

August 1, 2022 Men in the Sun & Other Palestinian Stories by Ghassan Kanafani (117 pages)

July 11, 2022 Against the Loveless World by Susan Abulhawa, Palestine (381 pages)
(Note: This is the second Monday in July)

June 6, 2022 Selection from The Qur’an. Surahs 97, 1, 4, 18, 25, 34 and 24:35.
Reference: Holy Qur’an - Episode 31 of Sacred Texts of the World
(https://boulderlibrary.kanopy.com/video/holy-quran).

May 2, 2022 Palestine is Our Home by Nahida Halaby Gordon (editor), Palestine (186 pages)
Reference: Resource links for the discussion from Randi - http://www.sackett.net/ALDG-May2022.pdf.
(Note: Nahida Halaby Gordon will be joining our Jitsi meeting.)

April 4, 2022 The Other Son. https://tubitv.com/movies/602261/the-other-son?start=true.
Two families -- one Israeli, one Palestinian -- learn, 18 years later, that their sons were accidentally switched at birth. (1 hour 45 minutes) (We watched and discussed this movie at an in-person meeting.)

March 7, 2022 The Mauritanian by Mohamedou Ould Slahi (410 pages)
A diary of the author's 14-year imprisonment (without any charges being filed against him) at Guantánamo Bay.

February 7, 2022 Lift Like a Girl. A documentary about the female weightlifting community training in the streets of Alexandria (90 minutes)
We will watch and discuss this at an in-person meeting.
Read The Mauritanian for our March 7 discussion. There are copies in Prospector which is once again available for Front Range libriaries (YEAH!).


2021

December 6, 2021 The Homeland by Hamida Na’na (160 pages)

November 1, 2021 The Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution by Peter Hessler (Part Three, 195 pages)

October 2021
(Note: No meeting in October)

September 13, 2021 The Buried: An Archaeology of the Egyptian Revolution by Peter Hessler (Parts One and Two, 233 pages)
(Note: This is the second Monday in September)

August 9, 2021 A Bottle in the Gaza Sea a film about Arab Israeli coexistence (100 minutes)
We will watch and discuss this at an in-person meeting.
(Note: This is the second Monday in August)

July 12, 2021 A Woman Is No Man by Etaf Rum, Palestine (337 pages)
(Note: This is the second Monday in July)

June 7, 2021 Aisha Helps Shape Islam Episode 16 in The Great Courses series “Warriors, Queens, and Intellectuals” and
Conflict within Islam Episode 8 in The Great Courses series “The History of Spain”
Watch online ahead of time at https://boulderlibrary.kanopy.com/video/aisha-helps-shape-islam and https://boulderlibrary.kanopy.com/video/conflict-within-islam and we will discuss them at the meeting. These 30 minute lectures do not count against your monthly Kanopy quota so feel free to explore other episodes and share highlights at the meeting.

May 3, 2021 The Battle of Algiers a film by Gillo Pontecorvo
Watch online ahead of time at https://boulderlibrary.kanopy.com/video/battle-algiers-0 and we will discuss it at the meeting.

April 5, 2021 The Book of Khalid by Ameen Rihani, Lebanon (349 pages) Continued!
Online at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29257/29257-h/29257-h.htm

March 1, 2021 The Book of Khalid by Ameen Rihani, Lebanon (349 pages)
Online at http://www.gutenberg.org/files/29257/29257-h/29257-h.htm

February 1, 2021 The Parisian by Isabella Hammad, Palestine (part 2 chapter 9 to the end (293 pages))

January 4, 2021 The Parisian by Isabella Hammad (start through part 2 chapter 8 (274 pages))


2020

December 7, 2020 The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu by Joshua Hammer, Mali (288 pages)

November 2, 2020 Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits by Laila Lalami, Morocco (195 pages)

October 5, 2020 The Dove's Necklace by Raja Alem, Saudi Arabia (2nd half of 480 pages)

September 14, 2020 The Dove's Necklace by Raja Alem, Saudi Arabia (1st half of 480 pages)

August 3, 2020 Poetry Selection from Nizar Qabbani, Syria (76 pages)
Pick your favorites to discusss from these, 48 poems

July 6, 2020 Celestial Bodies by Jokha Alharthi (256 pages)
Reader's Guide here, author's website http://jokha.com/

June 1, 2020 The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran (107 pages)
Online at https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/58585

May 4, 2020 Guests of the Sheik: An Ethnography of an Iraqi Village by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea (368 pages)

April 6, 2020 The Arabs: A History by Eugene Rogan (Introduction and Chapter 15 (58 pages))
Ch15: Arabs in the 21st Century (http://sackett.net/RoganHistoryCh15.pdf)

March 2, 2020 The Queue by Basma Abdel Aziz (217 pages)

February 3, 2020 A Pure Heart by Rajia Hassib (2nd half of 305 pages)
(Note: No meeting in January)


2019

December 2, 2019 A Pure Heart by Rajia Hassib (1st half of 305 pages)

November 4, 2019 Akhenaten, Dweller in Truth by Naguib Mahfouz (168 pages)

October 7, 2019 Daring to Drive by Manal al-Sharif (320 pages)

September 9, 2019 Anatomy of Terror: From the Death of bin Laden to the Rise of the Islamic State by Ali Soufan (384 pages)
(Note: This is the second Monday in September)

August 5, 2019 In the Presence of Absence by Mahmoud Darwish (171 pages)

July 1, 2019 The Yacoubian Building by Alaa al-Aswany (255 pages)

June 3, 2019 Who's Afraid of Meryl Streep? by Rashid al-Daif (130 pages)

May 6, 2019 The Last Refuge: Yemen, al-Qaeda, and America's War in Arabia by Gregory Johnsen (352 pages)

April 1, 2019 The Last Girl: My Story of Captivity, and My Fight Against the Islamic State by Nadia Murad (306 pages)

March 4, 2019 Selection from They Die Strangers by Mohammad Abdul-Wali, Yemen (Introduction, and 8 stories (pp 69-112))
http://sackett.net/Abdul-WaliStrangers.pdf

February 4, 2019 Four stories from An Arabian Mosaic: Short Stories by Arab Women Writers collected and translated by Dalya Cohen-Mor:
The Persian Rug by Hanan al-Shaykh, Lebanon http://sackett.net/al-ShaykhPersianRug.pdf
A Mistake in the Knitting by Ihsan Kamal, Egypt http://sackett.net/KamalKnitting.pdf
Half a Woman by Sufi Abdallah, Egypt http://sackett.net/AbdallahWoman.pdf
Pharoah is Drowning Again by Sakina Fuad, Egypt http://sackett.net/FuadPharoah+Bios.pdf (short biographies of the authors in An Arabian Mosaic are included with this story)


2018

December 3, 2018 The Open Door by Latifa al-Zayyat

November 5, 2018 I Sweep the Sun Off Rooftops by Hanan al-Shaykh

October 1, 2018 No Turning Back: Life, Loss, and Hope in Wartime Syria by Rania Abouzeid

September 10, 2018 An Unnecessary Woman by Rabih Alameddine

August 6, 2018 The Girl Who Fell to Earth: A Memoir by Sophia al-Maria

July 2, 2018 Ali and His Russian Mother by Alexandra Chreiteh, Lebanon

June 4, 2018 Watch and then discuss the film “Umm Kulthum: A Voice Like Egypt

May 7, 2018 In the Shadow of the Prophet: The Struggle for the Soul of Islam by Milton Viorst, Chapters 6 through 10

April 2, 2018 In the Shadow of the Prophet: The Struggle for the Soul of Islam by Milton Viorst, Chapters 1 through 5

March 5, 2018 Mirrors by Naghib Mahfouz (illustrated by Seif Wanli), Egypt

February 5, 2018 Revolution for Dummies: Laughing Through the Arab Spring by Bassem Youssef, Egypt

January 8, 2018 The Return by Hisham Matar, Libya


2017

December 4, 2017 Salt Houses by Hala Alyan, Palestinian

November 6, 2017 Sitt Marie Rose by Etel Adnan, Lebanon
^Note: At the beginning of the meeting we'll finish discussing The Dove's Necklace.

October 2, 2017 The Dove's Necklace by Raja Alem, Saudi Arabia

September 11, 2017 Poems of al-Mutanabbi selection translated by A.J. Arberry (Note: This is the second Monday in September)

August 7, 2017 Gate of the Sun (second half) by Elias Khoury, Lebanon

July 10, 2017 Gate of the Sun (first half) by Elias Khoury, Lebanon

June 5, 2017 Prairies of Fever by Ibrahim Nasrallah, Palestinian

May 1, 2017 Zayni Barakat by Gamal al-Ghitani, Egypt

April 3, 2017 A Life in Pencil: Poems by Ghada Kanafani, Palestinian

March 6, 2017 The Crane by Halim Barakat, Syro-Lebanese

February 6, 2017 Year of the Elephant: A Moroccan Woman's Journey Toward Independence by Leila Abouzeid, Morocco

January 9, 2017 Chronicle of a Last Summer by Yasmine El Rashidi, Egypt


2016

November 7, 2016 Nasser: My Husband by Tahia Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt

October 3, 2016 The Corpse Exhibition and Other Stories of Iraq by Hassan Blasim, Iraq

September 12, 2016 Fragments of Memory: A Story of a Syrian Family by Hanna Mina, Syria

August 1, 2016 I'jaam: An Iraqi Rhapsody by Sinan Antoon, Iraq

July 11, 2016 Reading Darwin in Arabic, 1860-1950 by Dr. Marwa Elshakry, Columbia University Department of History

June 6, 2016 “Zaha”, an article in Saudi Aramco World about Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, by Louis Werner
http://archive.aramcoworld.com/pdf/2000/200206.pdf

May 2, 2016 Season of Migration to the North by Tayeb Salih, Sudanese

April 11, 2016 The Journey of Ibn Fattouma by Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian (Note: This is the second Monday in April)

March 7, 2016 Abu Jmeel's daughter and Other Stories: Arab Folk Tales from Palestine and Lebanon by Jamal Sleem Nuweihed, Lebanese

February 1, 2016 The Meursault Investigation by Kamel Daoud, Algerian

January 5, 2016 The Moor's Account by Laila Lalami, Morocco


2015

November 2, 2015 The Bedouins and the Desert: Aspects of Nomadic Life in the Arab East by Jibrail S. Jabbur

October 5, 2015 Desert Voices: Bedouin Women's Poetry in Saudi Arabia by Moneera Al-Ghadeer

September 14, 2015 “Rooms of Their Own” An article about women writers in Arabic literature in Aramco World Magazine (http://archive.aramcoworld.com/pdf/1990/199603.pdf) by Elizabeth Warnock Fernea

August 3, 2015 Late for Tea at the Deer Palace: The Lost Dreams of My Iraqi Family by Tamara Chalabi

July 6, 2015 Walking through Fire by Nawal El Saadawi

June 1, 2015 The Days: His Autobiography in Three Parts by Taha Hussein

May 4, 2015 The Corpse Washer by Sinan Antoon

April 6, 2015 Mahmoud Darwish: the Poet's Art and his Nation by Khaled Mattawa

March 2, 2015 Saladin by A.R. Azzam

February 2, 2015 The Seven Veils of Seth: A Modern Arabic Novel from Libya by Ibrahim al-Koni

January 5, 2015 The Gaza Kitchen: A Palestinian Culinary Journey by Laila el-Haddad and Maggie Schmitt


2014

November 3, 2014 “#techboom #arabnets” an article about technology in the Arab world from Saudi Aramco World May/June 2014 magazine by Habib Battah

October 6, 2014 “Hayy Was Here” a Robinson Crusoe article from Saudi Aramco World May/June 2014 magazine by Tom Verde

September 8, 2014 T.E. Lawrence: An Arab View by Suleiman Mousa

August 11, 2014 Looking for Palestine by Najla Said (Note: This is the second Monday in August)

July 7, 2014 Contemporary Iraqi Fiction: an Anthology by Shakir Mustafa

June 2, 2014 Poor: A Nubian Novel by Idris Ali

May 5, 2014 Arabic Food Preparation.

April 7, 2014 Libyan film, Lion of the Desert: Omar al Mukhtar

March 3, 2014 Arabic Music Discussion.

February 3, 2014 Palestine: A Personal History by Karl Sabbagh

January 6, 2014 Nizar Qabbani Poetry Selection
     Bring your favorites of the 48 poems at http://www.poemhunter.com/nizar-qabbani/ to discuss (the poems are collected into one file at http://www.sackett.net/QabbaniPoetry.pdf).


2013

November 4, 2013 Grandfather's Tale by Ulfat Idilbi

October 7, 2013 Munira's Bottle by Yousef al-Mohaimeed

September 9, 2013 Azazeel by Youssef Ziedan

August 5, 2013 The Watchers by Tahar Djaout

July 8, 2013 Anatomy of a Disappearance by Hisham Matar

June 3, 2013 Arabic Short Stories translated by Denys Johnson-Davies with an introduction by Roger Allen
    [Note: See http://www.sackett.net/arabic_lit_2013.htm for which stories to read.]

May 6, 2013 Married to Another Man: Israel's Dilemma in Palestine by Dr. Ghada Karmi

April 1, 2013 The Star of Algiers by Aziz Chouaki

March 4, 2013 The Anchor Book of Modern Arabic Fiction edited by Denys Johnson-Davies
    [Note: See http://www.sackett.net/arabic_lit_2013.htm for which stories to read.]

February 4, 2013 Lebanese Blonde by Joseph Geha

January 7, 2013 Modern Syrian Short Stories translated by Michel Azrak
     Authors in this book we've discussed before in the group: Ulfat al-Idlibi (aka Ulfat Idilbi), Walid Ikhlasi (aka Walid Ikhlassi), and Ghadah al-Saman (aka Ghada Samman).


2012

December 3, 2012 Whatever Happened to Antara by Walid Ikhlassi

November 5, 2012 The Last Summer of Reason by Tahar Djaout

October 1, 2012 Excerpts from Banipal, Magazine of Modern Arab Literature. From #24 (Autumn 2005): Short stories by Huzamah Habayeb, Haifa Bitar, and Jamila Omairah. Excerpts from novels by Mahdi Haydar, Venus Khoury-Ghata, and Hanan al-Shaykh. From #22 (Spring 2005): Excerpt from Najata Barakat's The Busload of Good People. From #20 (Summer 2004): Excerpt from Zainab Hifni's novel No More Tears. From #19 (Spring 2004): Lutfiyya al-Dulaimi, “What the Storytellers Did not Tell”, Latifa Baqa “Bad Soup”, Ghalia Kabbani “Dreams of a Well-Bred Girl”.

September 10, 2012 Rama and The Dragon by Edwar al-Kharrat

August 6, 2012 Katrina in Five Worlds by Kathy Saade Kenny

July 2, 2012 Granada by Radwa Ashour

June 4, 2012 Children Of The New World by Assia Djebar

May 7, 2012 Return to Dar al-Basha by Hassan Nasr

April 2, 2012 The Road From Damascus by Robin Yassin Kassab

March 5, 2012 Mornings in Jenin by Susan Abulhawa
  There is a reading guide at http://www.sackett.net/AbulhawaJeninGuide.pdf.

February 6, 2012 The Long Way Back by Fuad al-Takarli

January 2, 2012 In the country of men by Hisham Matar



2011

December 5, 2011 A Dog With No Tail by Hamdi Abu Golayyel

November 7, 2011 A World I Loved: The Story of an Arab Woman by Wadad Makdisi Cortas

October 3, 2011 Zaat by Sonallah Ibrahim

September 12, 2011 Borrowed Time by Hassan Daoud

August 1, 2011 Arab American Authors, selections from Banipal 38 - Magazine of Modern Arab Literature

July 11, 2011 Woman at Point Zero by Nawal el-Saadawi

June 6, 2011 Voices of change : short stories by Saudi Arabian women writers edited and translated by Abubaker Bagader, Ava M. Heinrichsdorff, Deborah S. Akers

May 2, 2011 Food for Our Grandmothers: Writings by Arab-American and Arab-Canadian Feminists edited by Joanna Kadi

April 4, 2011 Feature Film: Nasser 56

March 7, 2011 Mahmoud Darwish, Exile's Poet: Critical Essays edited by Hala Khamis Nassar and Najat Rhaman

February 7, 2011 Love Letters: The Love Letters of Kahlil Gibran to May Ziadah translated and edited by Salma Haffar al-Kuzbari and Suheir Bushrui

January 3, 2011 The Qadi and the Fortune Teller by Nabil Saleh




2010

December 6, 2010 Documentary: Mahmoud Darwish: As The Land Is The Language, by director Simone Bitton

November 1, 2010 The Arabs: A History by Eugene Rogan, Chapters 12, 13, 14, and Epilogue

October 4, 2010 My Days in Mecca by Ahmad Suba'i

September 13, 2010 The Arabs: A History by Eugene Rogan, Chapters 2, 5, 9, 10, and 11

August 2, 2010 A Balcony over the Fakihani by Liyana Badr

July 12, 2010 Memory for Forgetfulness by Mahmoud Darwish

June 7, 2010 Cities of Salt by Abd al-Rahaman Munif

May 3, 2010 Story of Zahra by Hanan al-Shaykh

April 5, 2010 Wolves of the Crescent Moon by Yousef al-Mohaimeed

March 1, 2010 Zubaida’s Window: A Novel of Iraqi Exile by Iqbal al-Qazwini

February 1, 2010 Lebanon, Lebanon edited by Anna Wilson

January 4, 2010 Desiring Arabs by Joseph Massad


2009

December 7, 2009 Wedding Night by Yusuf Abu Rayya

November 2, 2009 Voices Revealed: Arab women novelists, 1898-2000 by Bouthaina Shaaban

October 5, 2009 The Repudiation by Rachid Boudjedra

September 14, 2009 The Image, the Icon, and the Covenant by Sahar Khalifeh

August 3, 2009 The Girl in the Tangerine Scarf by Mohja Kahf

July 13, 2009 Leaves of Narcissus by Somaya Ramadan

June 1, 2009 Poems from Guantánamo: The Detainees Speak edited by Marc Falkoff

May 4, 2009 The Wedding of Zein and other Stories by Tayeb Saleh

April 6, 2009 Muhammad: A Novel by Driss Chraibi

March 2, 2009 Palestinian Walks by Raja Shehadeh

February 2, 2009 A Last Glass of Tea and Other Stories by Mohammed el Bisatie

January 5, 2009 The Hakawati by Rabih Alameddine


2008

December 1, 2008 Let It Be Morning by Sayed Kashua

November 3, 2008 Absent by Betool Khedairi

October 6, 2008 My Grandmother’s Cactus: Stories by Egyptian Women. Edited by Marilyn Booth

September 8, 2008 Dinarzad’s Children: An Anthology of Contemporary Arab American Fiction. Edited by Pauline Kaldas & Khaled Mattawa

August 4, 2008 The Tongue’s Blood Does Not Run Dry by Assia Djebar

July 7, 2008 Homes of the Heart: A Ramallah Chronicle by Farouq Wadi

June 2, 2008 Leaving Beirut by Mai Ghoussoub

May 5, 2008 In the House of Silence. Edited by Fadia Faqir

April 7, 2008 The Loved Ones by Alia Mamdouh

March 3, 2008 The Anchor Book of Modern Arabic Fiction edited by Denys Johnson-Davies

February 4, 2008 West of the Jordan by Laila Halaby

January 7, 2008 Oranges in the Sun: Short Stories from the Arabian Gulf, edited by Akers and Bagader


2007

November 5, 2007 The Yacoubian Building, by Alaa al-Aswany. Translated by Humphrey Davies

October 1, 2007 A Beggar at Damascus Gate, Yasmin Zahran. 157 pages.

September 10, 2007 Dancing Arabs, by Sayed Kashua (Qashu). Translated by Miriam Shlesinger

August 6, 2007 Arab History and Culture

July 2, 2007 Open House, by Nabil Saleh. 208 pages.

June 4, 2007 Beneath a Sky of Porphyry, by Aicha Lemsine. Translated by Dorothy S. Blair. 256 pages.

May 7, 2007 Teta, Mother and Me: Three Generations of Arab Women, by Jean Said Makdisi. 384 pages.

April 2, 2007 Two short stories by Ghida Sinno (author attendance at discussion)

March 5, 2007 Arab Women between Defiance and Restraint. Edited by Suha Sabbagh. 267 pages.

February 5, 2007 Chased by the Dogs (Film) (based on Mahfouz’s The Thief & the Dogs)

January 8, 2007 Echoes of an Autobiography, by Naguib Mahfouz. Translated by Denys Johnson-Davies


2006

November 6, 2006 Seen and Heard: A Century of Arab Women in Literature & Culture, by Mona Mikhail

October 2, 2006 The Gardens of Light, by Amin Maalouf

September 11, 2006 Sharon and My Mother-in-law, by Suad al-Amiry

August 7, 2006 The Bleeding of the Stone, by Ibrahim al-Koni

July 3, 2006 Nightingale's Prayer, film based on a novel by Taha Hussein

June 5, 2006 My Jerusalem: Essays, Reminiscences & Poems, edited by Salma Khadra Jayyusi

May 1, 2006 Fragments of Memory: A Story of a Syrian Family, by Syrian author Hanna Mina

April 3, 2006 Short Arabic Plays: An Anthology, edited by Salma Khadra Jayyusi

March 6, 2006 Naphtalene: A Novel of Baghdad, by Iraqi author Alia Mamdouh

February 6, 2006 A Distant View of a Minaret, by Egyptian author Alifa Rifaat

January 2, 2006 The life, essays, and poems by Saif al-Rahbi


2005

November 7, 2005 Alifa Rifaat Distant View of a Minaret

October 3, 2005 Hoda (Huda) Barakat The Tiller of Waters

September 12, 2005 Sahar Khalifeh Wild Thorns

August 1, 2005 Buthaina al-Nasiri Final Night

July 11, 2005 Naguib Mahfouz Palace of Desire

June 6, 2005 Leila Abouzeid The Last Chapter

May 2, 2005 Maram al-Massri A Red Cherry on a White-tiled Floor

April 4, 2005 Hanan al-Shaykh I Sweep the Sun Off Rooftops

March 7, 2005 Latifa al-Zayyat The Open Door

February 7, 2005 Nuha al-Radi Baghdad Diaries

January 3, 2005 Mourid Barghouthi I Saw Ramallah


2004

November 1, 2004 Hanan Ashrawi This Side of Peace: A Personal Account

October 4, 2004 Naguib Mahfouz Children of the Alley

September 13, 2004 Ahlam Mosteghanemi Memory in the Flesh (sequel is Chaos of the Senses)

July 5, 2004 Fathy Ghanem The Man Who Lost His Shadow

June 7, 2004 Diana Abu-Jaber Crescent

May 3, 2004 Mohammed Dib The Savage Night

April 5, 2004 Saadi Youssef Without an Alphabet, Without a Face: Selected Poems The first hour will be dedicated to the viewing of the video “Mahmoud Darwish” by Simone Bitton

March 1, 2004 Rashid al-Daif Dear Mr. Kawabata

February 2, 2004 Abdelkader Benali Wedding by the Sea

January 5, 2004 Anton Shammas Arabesques



2003

November 3, 2003 Tawfiq al-Hakim Return of the Spirit

October 6, 2003 Mourid Barghouti I Saw Ramallah

September 8, 2003 Anton Shammas Arabesques

August 4, 2003 Elmaz Abinader Children of the Roojme: A Family's Journey From Lebanon

July 7, 2003 Elias Khoury Gates of the City

June 2, 2003 Ahdhaf Soueif Map of Love

May 5, 2003 Leila Ahmed A Border Passage: From Cairo to America -- A Woman's Journey

April 7, 2003 Amin Maalouf The Crusades Through Arab Eyes

March 3, 2003 Kathryn Abdul-Baki Ghost Songs: A Palestinian Love Story

February 3, 2003 Fatima Mernissi Scheherazade Goes West



2002

November 4, 2002 Leila Aboulela The Translator

October 7, 2002 Mohammad Abdul-Wali, Abubaker Bagader and Deborah Akers They Die Strangers

September 9, 2002 Edward Said Reflections on Exile and other Essays

August 5, 2002 Taher Ben Jelloun Sacred Night

July 1, 2002 Leila Abouzeid, Elizabeth Fernea Return to Childhood: The Memoir of a Modern Moroccan Woman

June 3, 2002 Muhammad Shukri For Bread Alone

May 6, 2002 Abd al-Rahaman Munif Endings

April 1, 2002 Denys Johnson-Davies Under Naked Sky: Short Stories from the Arab World

March 4, 2002 Leila Sebbar Silence on the Shores

February 4, 2002 Rachid al-Daif, Nirvana Tanoukhi, Anton Shammas Passage to Dusk


2001

November 5, 2001 Mohamed Berrada The Game of Forgetting

October 1, 2001 Ramzi Salti Native Informant: Six Tales of Defiance from the Arab World

September 10, 2001 Mustapha Tlili Lion Mountain

June 4, 2001 Ghassan Kanafani Palestine's Children: Returning to Haifa and Other Stories

May 7, 2001 Ghassan Kanafani Palestine's Children: Returning to Haifa and Other Stories

April 2, 2001 Khalil Hawi Naked in Exile

March 5, 2001 Abdul Rahman Munif Story of a City

February 5, 2001 Samar Attar House on Arnus Square

January 8, 2001 Assia Djebar So Vast the Prison


2000

November 6, 2000 Jabra I. Jabra Hunters in a Narrow Street

October 2, 2000 Kathryn K. Abdul-Baki Tower of Dreams

September 11, 2000 Abd al-Rahman Munif Story of a City ‐ A Childhood in Amman

June 5, 2000 Salwa Bakr The Golden Chariot

May 1, 2000 Ibrahim Nasrallah Prairies of Fever

April 3, 2000 Hoda Barakat The Stone of Laughter

March 6, 2000 Zayd Mutee' Dammaj The Hostage

February 7, 2000 Yahya Yakhlif A Lake Beyond the Wind

January 10, 2000 Naguib Mahfouz Wedding Song


1999

November 1, 1999 Ghada Samman Beirut '75

October 4, 1999 Merzak Allouache Bab el-Oued

September 13, 1999 Kathryn Abdul-Baki Fields of Fig and Olive

July 12, 1999 Hanan al-Shaykh Story of Zahra

June 7, 1999 Tawfiq al-Hakim Return of the Spirit

May 3, 1999 Fadia Faqir Pillars of Salt

April 12, 1999 Ulfat Idilbi Sabriya: Damascus Bitter Sweet

March 1, 1999 Leila Abouzeid Year of the Elephant: A Moroccan Woman's Journey Toward Independence

February 1, 1999 Etel Adnan Sitt Marie Rose

1998

November 9, 1998 Naguib Mahfouz Palace Walk

November 2, 1998 Khaled Mattawa Ismailia Eclipse: Poems

October 5, 1998 Edward Said Culture and Imperialism

September 14, 1998 Mahmoud Darwish Memory for Forgetfulness

June 1, 1998 Driss Chraibi Mother Comes of Age

May 4, 1998 Yusuf Awwad Death in Beirut

April 13, 1998 Ava Heinrichsdorff (ed) Short Stories by Saudi Arabian Women Writers

March 2, 1998 Brick Oussaid Mountains Forgotten by God: the Story of a Moroccan Berber Family

February 2, 1998 Samar Attar Lina: Portrait of a Damascene Girl

January 5, 1998 Tayeb Salih Season of Migration to the North


1997

December 1, 1997 Jabra Ibrahim The Ship

November 3, 1997 Bahaa Taher Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery

October 6, 1997 Diana Abu-Jaber Arabian Jazz

September 8, 1997 Tayeb Salih Season of Migration to the North

August 4, 1997 Halim Barakat Six Days

July 9, 1997 Yusuf Idris The Sinners

June 11, 1997 Ghassan Kanafani Men in the Sun and Other Palestinian Stories

May 5, 1997 Sahar Khalifeh Wild Thorns

April 7, 1997 Hanan al-Shaykh Beirut Blues

March 3, 1997 Abdelrahman Munif Cities of Salt

February 3, 1997 Fatima Mernissi Dreams of Trespass: Tales of a Harem Girlhood

January 6, 1997 Amin Maalouf Samarkand


1996

November 4, 1996 Naguib Mahfouz Adrift on the Nile

October 7, 1996 Hanan al-Shaykh The Persian Carpet (The group's first meeting)


To see Discussion Group Founder Ghada's favorites from this list (through November of 2009): http://www.sackett.net/FavoritesGhada.htm.

Here are some favorites from reading group member Celeste: http://www.sackett.net/FavoritesCeleste.htm.

Here are some favorites from reading group member Bill: http://www.sackett.net/FavoritesBillArab.htm.

For a current (hopefully) flyer for the group: http://www.sackett.net/ArabicLitFlyer.pdf.

For more info go to the ‘Book & Discussion Groups’ tab on: http://research.boulderlibrary.org/readingroom.

This is http://www.sackett.net/arabic_lit.htm, last updated November 28, 2024.