CONTENTS

No l , February 1998

2 EDITORIAL

Why an Arab literature magazine?

3 SOllGS OF MIHYAR THE DAMASCEllE

by Adonis

8 TALKING WITH POET SARGON BOULOS

by Margaret Obank

18 POETRY

19 athalie Handal 23 Mai Mudhaffar 26 Amjad asser 31 Hashim Shafiq 34 Khaled Mattawa 38 AK El Jana bi

20 Kamal Abu Deeb 24 Salah Niazi 30 Ghazi Algosaibi 32 Khaled Al-Najar 36 Muhi Al-Din Lazikani

40 OPINION

40 Mohammad Ali Farhat 42 Muhi Al-Din Lazikani 43 Henry Miller

45 SHORT STORIES I NOVELS

-15 Zakariyya Tamir 48 Ibrahim Ahmed 52 Ghalia Kabbani SS Wigdan al-Sukhni 62 Hassouna Mosbahi

46 Tarek Eltayeb SO Abdullah Sakhi S3 Samira Al-Mana S7 SamuelShimon

84 REVIEWS

64 Nathalie Handal: Ismailia Eclipse 6S Matthias Munsch The Green Donkey 67 Faisal Darraj: Dregs of the Day

89 A CULTURAL MIRROR

Interview with Saqi Books publisher Mai Ghoussoub

72 REMEMBERING SA'DALLAH WANNUS

An appreciation of the playwright by Peter Clark

74 A TIME FOR PLURALISM

Interview with artist Faisal Laibi Sahi

77 THE COMPASSIONATE CONDITION

Fadhel Sultani writes on William Trevor

78 THE PATIENT CAMEL

Mona Naggar reports on Al-Kamel publishing house

80 CONTRIBUTORS AND TRANSLATORS

19l~!Nrn1P'~IL. February 1998 1