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Libya

vintage classic television
Photo by Ross Co on Pexels.
1973–1978: The Green March
By Najwa Bin Shatwan
As Gaddafi’s radical policies take hold in Libya, a family grapples with fear, loss, and the threat of betrayal in this excerpt from Najwa Bin Shatwan’s novel Concerto, shortlisted for the IPAF in 2023.
Translated from Arabic by Sawad Hussain
Soldier observing from an abandoned vehicle
Photo by AMORIE SAM on Pexels.
Colonel Ali at Wadi Doum
By Kawther Eljehmi
Set against the backdrop of Libya’s turbulent political landscape, this excerpt from The Colonel by Kawther Eljehmi explores the complexities of survival, loyalty, and identity.
Translated from Arabic by Ranya Abdelrahman
William James Müller painting
William James Müller, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
Tripoli, 1911
By Aisha Ibrahim
As Italy invades Tripoli in 1911, a young girl witnesses the beginnings of war in this excerpt from Aisha Ibrahim’s Box of Sand, longlisted for the 2023 International Prize for Arabic Fiction.
Translated from Arabic by Nashwa Nasreldin
Run, George!
By Najwa Bin Shatwan
“There is hope. There is joy. Come on, George, let’s grab a slice of some of that fun and happiness for ourselves!”
Translated from Arabic by Sawad Hussain
Multilingual
The Veil: An Extremely Short Play
By Mansour Bushnaf
The men pull dollar bills out of their pockets and throw them at the women’s heads.
Translated from Arabic by Kareem James Abu-Zeid
Awaiting a Poem
By Hawa Gamodi
The world has become a graveyard.
Translated from Arabic by Nariman Youssef
O My Libya
By Laila Neihoum
When Nowhere’s left for you we’ll take your place.
Translated from Arabic by Sumaya Jirde Ali
Multilingual
February 2008 Worth Ten Thousand Words A World Of Graphics Part Ii From Metro Magdy El Shafee Page Thumbnail
From “Metro”
By Magdy El Shafee
Magdy El Shafee’s Metro, the first adult Arabic graphic novel, is set in a chaotic modern Cairo pulsing with financial and social insecurity. Shihab, a young software designer who has been forced…
Translated from Arabic by Humphrey Davies
White Birds in a Black Space
By Ashur Etwebi
You may walk into the spaces of mildness and obedience / with the rebellious, the dreamers and the scared;
Translated from Arabic by the author
An Interview with Hisham Matar
By Nouri Gana
Nouri Gana talks to Hisham Matar about poetry, beards, and his novel In the Country of Men.
A close-up of a soccer ball on a lawn.
Photo by Marcus Spiske. Creative Commons.
The Men over the Hill
By Hisham Matar
This was how I was inducted into a world where everything has clearly drawn edges.
My City’s Ceiling Is Too Tight
By Hala Shurouf
O my city . . . Be a little larger / so that I may see my shadow free / on the sidewalks
Translated from Arabic by Issa J. Boullata
A Lady Who Does Not Resemble Me
By Hala Shurouf
She opens the window to the friendly morning / and tempts its birds
Translated from Arabic by Issa J. Boullata
Sabratha Fleeing
By Ashur Etwebi
Here you are now sitting in a cafe in Sabratha
Translated from Arabic by Khaled Mattawa
Preface to the Libya Issue of Words Without Borders, July 2006
By Khaled Mattawa
When it comes to countries that have been locked away—or locked out of—the Western world, Westerners tend to believe that little happens there during the time that they are not paying attention. Like…
Butterflies of Meaning
By Laila Neihoum
The cell. Whatever is there? / Listening a dreamy smile
Translated from Arabic by Laila Neihoum & Mohamed Hassan
The Right Course
By Ibrahim al-Koni
The tribes attributed to him provocative verses that denigrated the status of camels and extolled donkeys by contrast.
Translated from Arabic by William Maynard Hutchins
Reckless Habits
By Salem el-Okli
Is startled of every shadow, / So let me in slowly.
Translated from Arabic by Randa Jarrar
Melting Sun
By Laila Neihoum
Things fall apart, / Tide not turning.
Translated from Arabic by Laila Neihoum & Mohamed Hassan
Mint Flavored Hiccups
By Mohammed Al-Asfar
While picking the mint I got the hiccups. I am sure you were talking about me.
Translated from Arabic by Hisham Matar
Wet Sleeves
By Mohammed Al-Asfar
Life's routine persisted and more sleeves became wet, then dried, then became wet again, and so on.
Translated from Arabic by the author
The Sultan’s Flotilla
By Sadiq Neihoum
The dog was a hideous sight, putrid, offensive, with gouged-out eyes.
Translated from Arabic by Ethan Chorin
The Locusts
By Ahmed Ibrahim Al-Fagih
Haj Salim is tilling his field, rippling with blades of wheat and barley. What's he doing?
Translated from Arabic by Ethan Chorin
The Clamor of Your Longing, Or What’s Between Us
By Salem el-Okli
How can I playWhen language has been eclipsed by imagination’s neediness?
Translated from Arabic by Randa Jarrar
Terracina
By Luciana Capretti
McCain looked at his watch, remembered his abandoned pool game, his whisky, and his buddies who were waiting for him, and answered distractedly: Everything is gonna be fine.
Translated from Italian by Marina Harss