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Poetry

You’ll Never Believe What’s Happening in Saudi Arabia

By Yara Marei / Arab America contributing writer. The lights of Riyadh sparkled like never before, casting a golden glow over the bustling city as crowds gathered to witness a season unlike any other. From the grand stages of youth innovation to the red carpets of global fashion, Riyadh Season 2024 transformed the Saudi capital … Continued

Pathbreakers of Arab America—Lisa Suhair Majaj

This is the sixty-fourth of Arab America’s series on American pathbreakers of Arab descent. The series includes personalities from entertainment, business, sports, science, arts, academia, journalism, and politics, among other areas. Our sixty-fourth pathbreaker is Lisa Suhair Majaj, a Palestinian American poet, writer, and scholar of Arab American Literature. Contributing writer, John Mason, shows how she depicts Palestinians in times of peace and war, showing them in continuous periods of violence in Israel and Palestine. Majaj’s identity as a Palestinian American adds a deeply emotional aspect to her work. She avers, “In difficult times, poets and writers have always provided lifelines.”

Raed Wahesh: Voice of Syrian Suffering and Hope

By: Fedal Hanoun / Arab America Contributing Writer One of the important voices of his generation is Syrian poet Raed Wahesh, particularly in light of the country’s ongoing wars. Wahesh, who was born in Damascus in the early 1980s, is well-known for his moving, multi-layered poetry that explores the human condition, the effects of conflict, … Continued

Adonis: A Beacon of Syrian Poetry

By: Fedal Hanoun / Arab America Contributing Writer There is a well-known Syrian poet, essayist, and critic who goes by the name Adonis. His real name is Ali Ahmad Said Esber. His original writing style and examination of topics such as love, sorrow, exile, and the human condition have made him a notable character in … Continued

Rita… Love Me – A Poem by Mahmoud Darwish

By Luke McMahan / Arab America Contributing Writer Luke McMahan has been a student of Arabic for two and a half years, and throughout this time, he has been told how wonderful Arabic poetry is. But because few translations exist online of anything but the most famous poems, he had to wait to progress in … Continued

Al-Zahawi: Iraqi Anti-Establishment Poet

By Luke McMahan/ Arab America Contributing Writer Jamil Sidqi Al-Zahawi (جميل صدقي الزهاوي) was born in Baghdad in 1863 to a religiously conservative family, with his father serving as the Grand Mufti of an Iraqi Ottoman province. Although initially educated in classical Islamic disciplines, he developed an interest in modern natural sciences through the Arabic … Continued

Al-Ma’arri: Medieval Anti-Theist, Vegan, and Anti-Natalist?

By Liam Nagle / Arab America Contributing Writer Al-Ma’arri, a relatively obscure Arab philosopher from the Golden Age of Islam, is perhaps best described as a pessimist. He held several beliefs that were controversial not only in his time but even today. First, while he believed in a God, he was critical of organized religions. … Continued

Rewriting the Music Playbook: Harget Kart’s Art of Fusion

By: Yara Marei / Arab America Contributing Writer Imagine a band that takes the ordinary, lights it on fire, and from the ashes creates something extraordinary. This is Harget Kart—a name that, in the Arabic Jordanian dialect, means “to burn a photo card.” Just as their name suggests, Harget Kart has set the conventional boundaries … Continued

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