In my pursuit of new things to read (#booknerd), I can’t resist a good book list. Recommendations from other voracious readers? Yes please! Finalists for the latest literary prizes, or classic works organized by country or era? Bring it on! And so, when I found the website ArabLit several years ago, I was hooked. Of course, the site is much more than lists of Arabic literature in translation. ArabLit.org features in-depth interviews with translators and authors, beautifully translated poems and stories, a literary podcast Bulaq and a full-length magazine ArabLit Quarterly.

ArabLit continues to be one of the first places I go when looking for books to read or new authors and translators to follow. The site is simple to search and navigate, clearly divided into categories, with fresh content coming out regularly.

Let’s explore the site here, looking at the wide variety of Arabic works in translation and the latest pieces from ArabLit’s website and magazine.

Lit Lists

Works of Arabic literature in English translation, forthcoming in 2022
Arabic works in English translation, set to be published in 2022

I stumbled upon Arablit.org in graduate school, as I eagerly sought recommendations for new Arabic books. As one of the premier websites about Arabic literature in translation, ArabLit regularly publishes lists of translated novels, poetry, and short stories from across the Arab world. Working with authors, publishers, translators and scholars, the site compiles impressive lists, focusing not only on canonical works, but also on emerging authors and forthcoming translations.

Check out this list of translated works to be published in 2022, for instance. Or this detailed look at nine short stories from Sudan and South Sudan, all by female authors. My personal favorite, however, is ArabLit’s latest initiative, a monthly focus on one country or region of the Arab world. For January 2022, they focused on Iraq, looking at literary works by Iraqi women, asking Iraqi authors and translators to give their favorite examples of Iraqi literature, and more. I can’t wait to see what countries they feature next.

ArabLit Quarterly – FOLK (Winter 2021)

Front cover of the magazine ArabLit Quarterly, Winter 2021, the issue focused on folktales and folk songs

In 2018, ArabLit launched a quarterly magazine that, as they describe, “brings together Arabic literature, essays, wordplay, art, music, and food in translation.” Since then, the issues of ArabLit Quarterly have focused on themes like the sea, the road, crime, and cats.

The latest issue, Winter 2021, concentrates on folktales and folk songs. There, Nicholas Mangialardi reveals how an anthology of Egyptian folksongs preserved and also sanitized these popular tunes. A sharply illustrated graphic novella by Zainab Almahdi takes us on a fantastical journey in Bahrain. Guest editor Ali Al-Jimri hosts an intriguing interview with two authors, who wrote separate versions of the same folktale. And translated works feature poetry from 14th-century Egypt, a wedding song from Bahrain, melhoun (sung poetry) from Morocco, and much much more.

ArabLit Quarterly – FOOTBALL (Fall 2021)

Front cover of the magazine ArabLit Quarterly, Fall 2021, the issue focused on football/soccer

The Fall 2021 issue of ArabLit Quarterly focuses on football (soccer to us Americans). There, articles highlight the intersection of politics and football in Egypt and Morocco, and a passionate essay shows how writing is like football, and football is like writing. Stories like “Captain Majid” by Ameer Hamad weave the sport into eloquent narratives. And an excerpt from Naguib Mahfouz’s memoirs describes his successes and passion for football, before he left the sport to focus exclusively on literature.

All these pieces are punctuated by images of football in action. We see colorful shots of street soccer in Egypt, Jordan, Somalia, Turkey and the UAE. Older photos include Egyptian teams from the 1920s and 30s, newspaper clippings, old football crests, and more.

ArabLit Quarterly – KITCHEN (Summer 2021)

Front cover of the magazine ArabLit Quarterly, Summer 2021, the issue focused on cooking and the kitchen

The last ArabLit Quarterly that I’ll highlight today is the Summer 2021 issue, which focuses on the kitchen. As the editor explains, this includes not only cooking, but food history, what food means to us, table manners, and so on.

Thus, we find two poems about kitchens by the Egyptian writer Rym Jalil, and an interview with the author of Cigarette Number Seven, a novel filled with food prep, cooking, and delicious meals. Nawal Nasrallah explains the history of the medieval Arab sandwich and its entry into European cuisine through Sicily. Other stories and essays focus on dishes like grape leaves, chocolate cake, baked bread, and bitter orange jam. Once again, the vibrant illustrations and photos fit perfectly with the written pieces around them.

What Next?

Learn more about Arabic literature in translation from the best source, the ArabLit website! Explore their diverse work from the ArabLit home page. Or dive right into poetry, in-depth interviews with authors and translators, extensive book lists, and more. Download and listen to their literary podcast Bulaq, and buy or subscribe to their magazine ArabLit Quarterly. I love the quality and breadth of ArabLit’s work. Every time I visit their site, I find new things to read and new authors to enjoy.

So, explore ArabLit for yourself! Then tell me what you think — what works did you add to your reading list? How many books have you read from their new posts about Iraqi literature? What’s your favorite issue of ArabLit Quarterly?

And don’t miss the latest updates from my blog. Recent posts focus on outstanding Turkish authors (have you read Latife Tekin’s work?), amazing musicians from Algeria (you’ve got to hear the song Zina), and powerful examples of street art in Amman (some of them over five stories tall).