Magazine of Modern

Arab Literature

Publisher / Editor MARGARET OBANK

Assistant Editor SAMUEL SHIMON

Consulting Editors FADHIL AL-AZZAWI MOHAMMED BENNIS SARGON BOULUS

PETER CLARK MOHAMMAD ALI FARHAT

ERDMUTE HELLER KHALED MATTAWA

SAIF AL-RAHBI HILMY SALEM HISHAM SHARABI

Copy Editor DEBORAH HORTON

Covers RACHID KORAICHI

Address BANIPAL PO Box 22300 LONDON W13 8ZQ Tel: +44 (0) 208 568 9747 Fax: +44 (0) 208 568 8509 e-mail:banipal@compuserve.com

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ISSN: 1461-5363

Banipal takes its name from Ashurbanipal, last great king of Assyria and patron of the arts, whose outstanding achievement was to assemble in Nineveh, from all over his empire, the first systematically organised library in the ancient Middle East. The thousands of clay tablets of Sumerian, Babylonian and Assyrian writings included the famous Mesopotamian epics of the Creation, the Flood, and Gilgamesh, many folk tales, fables, proverbs, prayers and omen texts.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica

Photographs not accredited have been donated by friends, photographers unknown © All material: Banipal, authors, translators and artists. All rights reserved.

CONTENTS

NO 7, Spring 2000

2 EDITORIAL 3 SA’ADI YOUSSEF: poems with appreciations from Khaled Mattawa, Stefan Weidner, James Kirkup, Abbas Beydhoun 10 MAHMOUD SHUKAIR: testimony, and ten short stories 13 AMJAD NASSER: poems 14 FAWZIYYA ABU KHALID: poems 16 ABDO WAZEN: poems 18 NASSER AL-DHAHERI: short story – The sounds of moans 20 ZAKARIA MOHAMMED: poems with appreciation from Amjad Nasser 24 HILMY SALEM: poems 25 MOHAMED EL-BISATIE: excerpt from Clamour of the Lake 26 NATHALIE HANDAL: poem 28 ABDAH KHAL: The story of Rashid al-Haydari 33 SALMAN MASALHA: poems 34 SAMUEL SHIMON: Royal Silver – excerpt from novel 37 FEATURE ON ALGERIAN LITERATURE

37 WACINY LARADJ: Breaking the silence on Algerian literature 38 MOHAMMED DIB: short story – The Companion 44 MOHAMMED DIB: poems with appreciations by James Kirkup 45 AZZEDINE MIHOUBI: poem 46 RACHID BOUDJEDRA: excerpts from two novels

Turmoil and The Stubborn Snail 49 TAHER WATTAR: excerpt from The Earthquake with introduction by William Granara 54 MALEK HADDAD: poems with appreciation by Tahar Bekri 56 ABDELHAMID BEN HADDOUGA: excerpt from novel with appreciation by Brahim Sadi 61 KATEB YACINE: poems 62 MOHAMED MAGANI: excerpts from The Butcher’s Asethetic 63 YOUCEF NEDJIMI: poem 66 ABDEL AZIZ GHARMOUL: short story – The smell of the opposition 67 OTHMAN LOUCIF: poems 68 BASHIR MUFTI: Wardah’s confessions – excerpt from novel 70 KATARZYNA PIEPRZAK: on Assia Djebar 72 MEHDI CHAREF: continuing excerpt from Alexina’s House 77 KADER BOUBEKRI: poems 78 REvIEWS

78 Peter Clark Memory in the Flesh by Ahlam Mosteghanemi 79 James Kirkup La Serment des barbares by Boualem Sansal 80 Lorraine Pounds Sherazade by Leïla Sebbar

A tous qui partent by Fatma Z. Zamoum

81 HAZiM SAGHIEH: America and the culture war 82 BASSEM K. FRANGIEH: tribute to Syrian novelist Hani al-Raheb 83 REvIEWS

83 Mona Zaki Houses behind the Trees by Mohamed el-Bisatie 85 Margaret Obank Seven by Ghazi Algosaibi 86 EvENTS/LITERARY PRIZES

86 Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature, Cairo 87 UNESCO and World Poetry Day – 21 March 88 Prince Claus Awards / The Caine Prize for African Writing Inside back cover CONTRIBUTORS and translators

BANIPAL is published three times a year, Spring, Summer and Autumn. Translators are acknowledged at the end of each piece. The source language of the work is noted only when it is not Arabic.

SEE page 88 for Subscription form banipal Spring 2000 1