93/ Syrian Prison Literature and the Poetics ...

For episode 217, I talk about Israel bombing my hometown of Ain Saadeh yesterday, and why it worries me more than anything they've done so far. ⁠⁠⁠Lebanon emergency relief⁠⁠⁠⁠Support: You can support my work with⁠⁠ ⁠a one-off or monthly donation⁠⁠⁠ on Ko-fiMasterclass on Modern L ...  Show more

For episode 216, I am joined by Lebanese writer and translator Lina Mounzer as well as Lebanese journalist Justin Salhani to talk about the ongoing consequences of Israel's war on Lebanon. This is an intra-Lebanese conversation that is meant to give you an idea of the sort of dis ...  Show more

Two years of staying inside her own home in Homs, whilst 60 per cent of her neighbourhood was turned into rubble hasn't deterred architect Marwa al-Sabouni. She talks to Anne McElvoy about rebuilding and hope. Adélie Chevée researches the use of media by the Syrian opposition, an ...  Show more

The Palace of Dreams is a novel from 1981 that is ostensibly set in the 19th century Ottoman empire, but the Albanian writer Ismail Kadare cleverly smuggles in thinly veiled criticism of the totalitarian state presided over by Enver Hoxha. The book was duly banned shortly after p ...  Show more

The "Arab Spring" shook the world in 2011, revealing profound dissatisfaction throughout the Middle East and North Africa, as people throughout the region took to the streets demanding dramatic political change. The uprisings have been analyzed by scholars, journalists, and other ...  Show more

‏In this episode I share with you my reading update so far. It's July and I should have read more books than I did but life got in the way. According to goodreads I am 13 books behind schedule. The titles I shared in the episode: The Roughest Draft By Emily Wibberley, Austin Sieg ...  Show more