#Marcia Lynx Qualey Translator

[cherylmmbookblog]

#Blogtour Black Foam by Haji Jabir

It’s a pleasure to take part in the Blogtour Black Foam by Haji Jabir – translated by Sawad Hussain and Marica Lynx Qualey. About the Author Haji Jabir is an Eritrean novelist who was born in the city of Massawa on the Red Sea Coast in 1976. He currently lives in Doha, Qatar, where he works as an Al Jazeera journalist. Jabir’s creative aim is to shed light on Eritrea’s past and present and to…

[whilereadingandwalking]

Black Foam by Haji Jabir, translated by Sawad Hussain and Marcia Lynx Qualey, is a novel about an Eritrean man who has spent a lifetime making up stories to survive, and who just wants to be able to settle into a monotonous life of easy survival—to take a path that is paved instead of muddy and difficult to walk. 

 He's had many different names. He's been Adal, Dawoud, David, and Dawit. He's told many people what they've wanted to hear in order to get onto the next bus, or into the next refugee camp, that could mean surviving. Now, he's on his way to Israel as part of a community of Ethiopian Jews seeking refuge in Jerusalem. He knows his life has been a lie, but he no longer knows what else he can do. His stories follow him, stalk him. 

He resents how he's been forced as a refugee to relive his traumas, or to craft stories, to justify his survival—that he's been forced to either fabricate new selves, or give away his own deepest stories, to prove that he deserves a safe place to settle. Jabir writes this brilliantly—as we're ushered back through the stories of Dawit's life, we too aren't sure what's real and what Dawit has embellished, and increasingly, neither does Dawit. 

The experience of being a person born into war and then a refugee has stripped him, name by name, of knowing who he is. Of being able to own who he is—because it's the officials, the people deciding where he goes, who own his story. Who decide who he's allowed to be, and under what conditions. From the person who tells him "all the stories have been taken" by refugees before him to the researcher who digs into his story for her project, his life story, real or fabricated, is always something to be extracted by someone else. 

Black Foam was an excellent read. I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. It's out from Amazon Crossing on February 7. 

Content warnings for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, xenophobia, racism, violence.

[arablit]

A Conversation about 'I'm Here With You,' a Bilingual Fiction Podcast

“أنا معاك / I’m Here With You” is, as its creators write, “an immersive audio drama exploring the personal stories of four people who call a mental health helpline looking for support.” The four stories — composed by Angham Mardi and translated to English by Lauren Pepperell — are available on Spotify, Soundcloud and Youtube. ArabLit editor Marcia Lynx Qualey talked to Angham Mardi and Lauren…

[jenmedsbookreviews]

Black Foam: A Novel by Haji Jabir translated by Sawad Hussain and Marcia Lynx Qualey

Today I am sharing my thoughts on Black Foam by Haji Jabir and wishing the author a happy publication day. #HajiJabir @sawadhussain @AmazonPub #marcialynxqualey #Books #BookTwitter #booktwt

Today I am sharing my thoughts on Black Foam, the brand new novel from Haji Jabir. My thanks to Katya Wack at FMcM for the tour invite and to publisher Amazon Crossing for the advance copy for review. Here’s what the book is all about: Source: Advance Reader CopyRelease Date: 07 February 2023Publisher: Amazon Crossing (more…) “”

[hilalchouman]

My first (slightly translated, heavily re-written & re-edited) English story is now out on Arabic Literature (in English): World of Dogs.

(with generous editing help/advice by Yasmine Zohdi, Ziad Dallal, Marcia Lynx Qualey, & Bekriah Mawasi)

Used painting by Oussama Baalbaki (wishing that I'll have one of his paintings as a novel cover soon)

[arablit]

Author Haji Jaber & Translator Sawad Hussain Talk 'Black Foam'

On publication day for Haji Jaber’s Black Foam, a discussion with the author and translator Sawad Hussain about the origins of the book and the process of moving it into English. Marcia Lynx Qualey: Back in 2019, after Black Foam was longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction, you told me that the topic of the Falasha Jews had long been on your mind. When did you first start…

[arablit]

New Fiction by Basma El-Nsour: 'The Scorpion'

New Fiction by Basma El-Nsour: ‘The Scorpion’

By Basma El-Nsour Translated by I. Rida Mahmood and Marcia Lynx Qualey He squirmed a bit, feeling heavy all over, and opened his eyes. They were full of wrath, and it was with great difficulty that he raised his palm and brushed off the layers of dust that had gathered on his eyelids, struggling to move his stiff body. It wasn’t easy. When he stretched out an arm in search of his pack of…