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The Arab Spring: Five Years Later

January 2016

Five years after the start of the Arab Spring, we feature a selection of writing from the region guest edited by Elisabeth Jaquette: a dark graphic short story by the Tunisian artist Chakib Daoud; an excerpt from Basma Abdel-Aziz’s satirical novel The Queue; existential short fiction by Syrian writer Noor Dakerli; and a breathtaking poem about the power of poetry by Libyan writer Hawa Gamodi.

The “Arab Spring,” Five Years On
By Elisabeth Jaquette & Nariman Youssef
The term “Arab Spring” is a Western invention.
The Dump
By Chakib Daoud
“I put everything I had into this dump.”
Translated from Arabic by Elisabeth Jaquette & Nariman Youssef
The Queue
By Basma Abdel Aziz
He would need a special permit if he intended to extract the bullet.
Translated from Arabic by Elisabeth Jaquette
I Will Leave, without Lying Down on the Dewy Grass Even Once
By Noor Dakerli
I just want to know one thing: how would it feel to hold your hand?
Translated from Arabic by Alice Guthrie
Awaiting a Poem
By Hawa Gamodi
The world has become a graveyard.
Translated from Arabic by Nariman Youssef