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Arabic Literature (In Translation) Discussion Group

The Arabic Literature Discussion Group meets at 7 p.m., on the first Monday of each month (except for holidays and the month of December).

Meetings are held at the Arapahoe Conference Room (2nd floor of the Main Library, 11th & Arapahoe in downtown Boulder).

For more information, please contact Ghada Elturk, Outreach Librarian at 303-441-4941 (or e-mail: elturkg@boulder.lib.co.us).

2011 Book Schedule

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

February 7, 2011 - The Love letters of Khalil Gibran to May Ziadah, Edited by Salma H. Al-Kuzbari and Suheir Bushrui (trans.)

March 7, 2011 - Mahmoud Darwish-Exile’s Poet, Critical Essays, Edited by Hala Khamis and Najat Rahman

April 4, 2011 - Nasser 56 (feature film)

May 2, 2011 - Food for our Grandmothers by Joanna Kadi

June 6, 2011 - Voices of Change (short stories)

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

August 1, 2011 - Selections from Banipal 38 (Magazine of Modern Arab Literature)

September 12, 2011 - Borrowed Time by Hassan Daoud

October 3, 2011 - Zaat by Sonallah Ibrahim

November 7, 2011 - A World I Loved by Wadad Makdisi Cortas

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

2008 Schedule

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

February 4, 2008
West of the Jordan by Laila Halaby

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

April 7, 2008
The Loved Ones by Alia Mamdouh

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

June 2, 2008
Leaving Beirut by Mai Ghoussoub

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

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

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

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

November 3, 2008
Absent by Betool Khedairi

December 1, 2008
Let It Be Morning by Sayed Kashua

Books Previously Discussed

2007

January 8, 2007: Echoes of an Autobiography, by Naguib Mahfouz. Translated by Denys Johnson-Davies. 144 pages.
February 5, 2007: Chased by the Dogs (Film)
March 5, 2007: Arab Women between Defiance and Restraint. Edited by Suha Sabbagh. 267 pages.
April 2, 2007: Two short stories by Ghida Sinno
May 7, 2007: Teta, Mother and Me: Three Generations of Arab Women, by Jean Said Makdisi. 384 pages.
June 4, 2007: Beneath a Sky of Porphyry, by Aicha Lemsine. Translated by Dorothy S. Blair. 256 pages.
July 2, 2007: Open House, by Nabil Saleh. 208 pages.
August 6, 2007: Arab History and Culture
September 10, 2007: Dancing Arabs, by Sayed Kashua (Qashu). Translated by Miriam Shlesinger. 227 pages.
October 1, 2007: A Beggar at Damascus Gate, Yasmin Zahran. 157 pages.
November 5, 2007: The Yacoubian Building, by Alaa Al-Aswany. Translated by Humphrey Davies. 255 pages.

2006

January 2, 2006: The life, essays, and poems of Omani poet Saif al-Rahbi
February 6, 2006: A Distant View of a Minaret, by Egyptian author Alifa Rifaat
March 6, 2006: Naphtalene: A Novel of Baghdad, by Iraqi author Alia Mamdouh
April 3, 2006: Short Arabic Plays: An Anthology, edited by Salma Khadra Jayyusi
May 1, 2006: Fragments of Memory: A Story of a Syrian Family, by Syrian author Hanna Mina
June 5, 2006: My Jerusalem: Essays, Reminiscences & Poems, edited by Salma Khadra Jayyusi
July 3, 2006: Nightingale's Prayer, film based on a novel by Egyptian author Taha Hussein
August 7, 2006: The Bleeding of the Stone, by Libyan author Ibrahim al-Koni
September 11, 2006: Sharon and My Mother-in-law, by Palestinian author Suad al Amiry
October 2, 2006: The Gardens of Light, by Lebanese author Amin Maalouf
November 6, 2006: Seen and Heard: A Century of Arab Women in Literature & Culture, by Mona Mikhail

2005

January 3, 2005 Mourid Barghouthi I Saw Ramallah (184 pages)
February 7, 2005 Nuha al-Radi Baghdad Diaries (224 pages)
March 7, 2005 Latifa al-Zayyat The Open Door (380 pages)
April 4, 2005 Hanan al-Shaykh I Sweep the Sun off Rooftops (288 pages)
May 2, 2005 Maram al-Massri Red Cherry on a White-tiled Floor (96 pages)
June 6, 2005 Leila Abouzeid The Last Chapter (168 pages)
July 11, 2005 Naguib Mahfouz Palace of Desire (422 pages)
August 1, 2005 Buthaina al-Nasiri Final Night (112 pages)
September 12, 2005 Sahar Khalifeh Wild Thorns (208 pages)
October 3, 2005 Hoda (Huda) Barakat The Tiller of Waters (192 pages)
November 7, 2005 Alifa Rifaat Distant View of a Minaret (126 pages)

2004

November 1, 2004 Hanan Ashrawi This Side of Peace: A Personal Account (320 pages) (female, Palestine)
October 4, 2004 Naguib Mahfouz Children of the Alley (464 pages) (male, Egypt)
September 13, 2004 Ahlam Mosteghanemi Memory in the Flesh (256 pages) (female, Algeria) (sequel is Chaos of the Senses)
July 5, 2004 Fathy Ghanem The Man Who Lost His Shadow (352 pages) (male, Egypt)
June 7, 2004 Diana Abu-Jaber Crescent (352 pages) (female, Arab American)
May 3, 2004 Mohammed Dib The Savage Night (206 pages) (male, Algeria)
April 5, 2004 Saadi Youssef Without an Alphabet, Without a Face: Selected Poems (216 pages) (male, Iraq) 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 (256 pages) (male, Lebanon)
February 2, 2004 Abdelkader Benali Wedding by the Sea (208 pages) (male, Morocco)
January 5, 2004 Anton Shammas Arabesques (Male, Palestine) (264 pages)

2003

November 3, 2003 Tawfiq al-Hakim Return of the Spirit (Male, Egypt) (288 pages)
October 6, 2003 Mourid Barghouti I Saw Ramallah (184 pages) (Male, Palestine)
September 8, 2003 Anton Shammas Arabesques (264 pages)
August 4, 2003 Elmaz Abinader Children of the Roojme: A Family's Journey From Lebanon (304 pages) (Female, Lebanon)
July 7, 2003 Elias Khoury Gates of the City (Male, Lebanon) (97 pages)
June 2, 2003 Ahdhaf Soueif Map of Love (Female, Egypt) (529 pages)
May 5, 2003 Leila Ahmed A Border Passage, From Cairo to America - a Woman's Journey (320 pages) (Female, Egypt)
April 7, 2003 Amin Maalouf The Crusades Through Arab Eyes (Male, Lebanon) (286 pages)
March 3, 2003 Kathryn Abdul Baki Ghost Songs: A Palestinian Love Story (Female, Palestine) (366 pages)
February 3, 2003 Fatima Mernissi Scheherazade Goes West (228 pages) (Female, Morocco)

2002

November 4, 2002 Leila Aboulela The Translator (Sudan)
October 7, 2002 Mohammad Abdul-Wali, Abubaker Bagader and Deborah Akers They Die Strangers (Yemen)
September 9, 2002 Edward Said Reflections on Exile and other Essays (Palestine)
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 (Saudi Arabia)
April 1, 2002 Denys Johnson-Davies Under Naked Sky: Short Stories from the Arab World (Modern Arabic Writing)
March 4, 2002 Leila Sebbar Silence on the Shores (Algeria)
February 4, 2002 Rachid al-Daif, Nirvana Tanoukhi, Anton Shammas Passage to Dusk (Lebanon)

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 Yakhl 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 Seasons 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
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)