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Contemporary Iraqi Fiction: An Anthology
The first anthology of its kind in the West, Contemporary Iraqi Fiction gathers work from sixteen Iraqi writers, all translated from Arabic into English. Shedding a bright light on the rich diversity Iraqi experience, Shakir Mustafa has included selections by Iraqi women, Iraqi Jews now living in Israel, and Christians and Muslims living both in Iraq and abroad. While each voice is distinct, they are united in writing about a homeland that has suffered under repression, censorship, war, and occupation. Many of the selections mirror these grim realities, forcing the writers to open up new narrative terrains and experiment with traditional forms. Muhammad Khodayyir’s surrealist portraits of his home city, Basra, in an excerpt from Basriyyatha and the magical realism of Mayselun Hadi’s “Calendars” both offer powerful expressions of the absurdity of everyday life. Themes range from childhood and family to war, political oppression, and interfaith relationships. Mustafa provides biographical sketches for the writers and an enlightening introduction, chronicling the evolution of Iraqi literature.
232 pages, Hardcover
First published May 1, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
March 7, 2020
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Seguindo o tema autores orientais do Desafio Literário Popoca de março, resolvi pegar um livro raro. Sem tradução para o português, Contemporary Iraqi Fiction é uma lindíssima coletânea de contos de autores iraquianos, traduzida e editada por Shakir Mustafa. Não o ator Mustafa Shakir, favor não confundir, apesar dele ser um colírio.
Aqui estamos falando do PHD e professor de árabe Shakir Mustafa, que se deu ao trabalho de levantar uma lista extremamente variada de autores iraquianos com pouca ou nenhuma tradução para qualquer outra língua. E põe variada, a lista inclui homens, mulheres, muçulmanos, judeus e cristãos de variadas épocas do século XX, com ênfase na produção literária do Iraque a partir dos anos 80. Com direito a diversas histórias sobre as diversas guerras no Iraque, guerra com o Irã, guerra do golfo (aquela do Kuwait), embargos e a invasão americana. Sem deixar de lado as questões do governo Saddam Hussein.
Como não achei a lista de autores de forma clara em nenhum site sobre esse livro, então segue para futura consulta e referência de todos: Mohammad Khodayyir, Lutfiyya al-Dulaimi, Mahdi Isa al-Saqr, Mayselun Hadi, Abdul Rahman Majeed al-Rubaie, Samira al-Mana, Abdul Sattar Nasir, Samir Naqqash, Salima Salih, Samuel Shimon, Mahmoud Saeed, Nasrat Mardan, Jalil al-Qaisi,Ibtisam Abdullah, Ibrahim Ahmed e Shmuel Moreh.
Não sei o que me deixou mais triste, as histórias mais pesadas da coletânea ou o fato de que não consegui achar mais quase nada desses autores para ler depois. Porque, conforme prometido pelo editor, esses são autores pouco traduzidos, o que me pareceu um grande desperdício quando li o livro, que é simplesmente maravilhoso.
Me sinto revoltada quando leio livros assim tão maravilhosos que, por conta de barreiras linguísticas e sociais, acabam tendo um alcance tão limitado. O mundo perde muito com esse tipo de situação.
Os contos escolhidos para compor Contemporary Iraqi Fiction são de altíssima qualidade, e o trabalho de tradução está primoroso, mesmo nos casos em que o editor escolheu romances para traduzir e montou contos com pequenos pedaços deles. Sim, tem essa heresia no livro, mas como está bem feita eu perdoo.
Meu amor pela literatura árabe só aumenta quando encontro obras assim. Indico para todos que possam ter acesso e ler.
http://popoca.com.br/contemporary-ira...
SPOILER FREE
Seguindo o tema autores orientais do Desafio Literário Popoca de março, resolvi pegar um livro raro. Sem tradução para o português, Contemporary Iraqi Fiction é uma lindíssima coletânea de contos de autores iraquianos, traduzida e editada por Shakir Mustafa. Não o ator Mustafa Shakir, favor não confundir, apesar dele ser um colírio.
Aqui estamos falando do PHD e professor de árabe Shakir Mustafa, que se deu ao trabalho de levantar uma lista extremamente variada de autores iraquianos com pouca ou nenhuma tradução para qualquer outra língua. E põe variada, a lista inclui homens, mulheres, muçulmanos, judeus e cristãos de variadas épocas do século XX, com ênfase na produção literária do Iraque a partir dos anos 80. Com direito a diversas histórias sobre as diversas guerras no Iraque, guerra com o Irã, guerra do golfo (aquela do Kuwait), embargos e a invasão americana. Sem deixar de lado as questões do governo Saddam Hussein.
Como não achei a lista de autores de forma clara em nenhum site sobre esse livro, então segue para futura consulta e referência de todos: Mohammad Khodayyir, Lutfiyya al-Dulaimi, Mahdi Isa al-Saqr, Mayselun Hadi, Abdul Rahman Majeed al-Rubaie, Samira al-Mana, Abdul Sattar Nasir, Samir Naqqash, Salima Salih, Samuel Shimon, Mahmoud Saeed, Nasrat Mardan, Jalil al-Qaisi,Ibtisam Abdullah, Ibrahim Ahmed e Shmuel Moreh.
Não sei o que me deixou mais triste, as histórias mais pesadas da coletânea ou o fato de que não consegui achar mais quase nada desses autores para ler depois. Porque, conforme prometido pelo editor, esses são autores pouco traduzidos, o que me pareceu um grande desperdício quando li o livro, que é simplesmente maravilhoso.
Me sinto revoltada quando leio livros assim tão maravilhosos que, por conta de barreiras linguísticas e sociais, acabam tendo um alcance tão limitado. O mundo perde muito com esse tipo de situação.
Os contos escolhidos para compor Contemporary Iraqi Fiction são de altíssima qualidade, e o trabalho de tradução está primoroso, mesmo nos casos em que o editor escolheu romances para traduzir e montou contos com pequenos pedaços deles. Sim, tem essa heresia no livro, mas como está bem feita eu perdoo.
Meu amor pela literatura árabe só aumenta quando encontro obras assim. Indico para todos que possam ter acesso e ler.
August 10, 2019
I'm giving this 4/5 stars for the following reasons:
1. I really respect the editor, Shakir Mustafa. He wrote an excellent, brief introduction to this collection that provided a justification for his choices and prepped me, new to Iraqi fiction and still early-ish in my journey through Arabic fiction, to understand different themes in these anthologized stories. He chose female writers and acknowledged some problematic/concerning trends re: gender in some of the male writers. He also chose several Iraqi Jewish writers and balanced the expat writers with those who remain(ed) in Iraq.
2. Each writer was introduced well with a brief but thorough account of the pertinent facts of his/her life and the goals/themes of the texts included in this anthology.
3. It is still quite difficult to find solid English translations of many Arabic texts. I tried to find some of the novels mentioned in this collection in English translations via Amazon and was not always able to do so. Finding solid translations for free online is next to impossible. This was an excellent primer for me. I feel better equipped to know what writers to pursue further, what elements of Iraqi history to research more, and how to frame my teaching of Iraqi texts in my World Lit class...should I be able to find any legit translations for my students online....
1. I really respect the editor, Shakir Mustafa. He wrote an excellent, brief introduction to this collection that provided a justification for his choices and prepped me, new to Iraqi fiction and still early-ish in my journey through Arabic fiction, to understand different themes in these anthologized stories. He chose female writers and acknowledged some problematic/concerning trends re: gender in some of the male writers. He also chose several Iraqi Jewish writers and balanced the expat writers with those who remain(ed) in Iraq.
2. Each writer was introduced well with a brief but thorough account of the pertinent facts of his/her life and the goals/themes of the texts included in this anthology.
3. It is still quite difficult to find solid English translations of many Arabic texts. I tried to find some of the novels mentioned in this collection in English translations via Amazon and was not always able to do so. Finding solid translations for free online is next to impossible. This was an excellent primer for me. I feel better equipped to know what writers to pursue further, what elements of Iraqi history to research more, and how to frame my teaching of Iraqi texts in my World Lit class...should I be able to find any legit translations for my students online....
February 16, 2017
Some of the poems within this collection were haunting. A real wake up call to the impact of the Iraq war, any war, on soldiers returning home. But also on those they left behind at home, expecting their husbands, brothers, dads but instead getting corpses.
October 14, 2021
A very interesting compilation of fairly recent short stories and chapter excerpts by acclaimed Iraqi authors. Sadly, however, aside from this book, most of these authors don’t appear to have been translated into English and are not available from my library. It was lovely to learn from these tales about public baths in Baghdad, tannour ovens shared by several families, polygamy in Iraq, date palms, what it's like when bombs drop near one's house, the sound of the noontime athan call to prayer from mosque minarets, the sound of ululation, and a tiny taste of what life is like in Baghdad and Basra, Kirkkuk and Nasiriyya.
March 27, 2009
I really liked this book very much and I would recommend it to anyone, even if they're not interested in Iraqi fiction in particular. The introductions to each author and their stories are great because you get to know a little bit about them and how, though their common home is Iraq, their various experiences and histories have influenced how they remember and represent Iraq in their own stories. I also really appreciate how Shakir has selected excerpts from a varied range of authors- he has included Iraqi Jewish, Christian, and Muslim writers, as well as some who have left to live abroad and some who live in Iraq. This reminds you that long before the lines were drawn based on religion, and long before the mention of Iraq brought to mind war and religious differences, Iraq was home to many different cultures, ideas, and religions. Iraq is literally, after all, considered to be the cradle of civilization, and it has such a rich history.
The way Iraq exists in the minds of these authors and their various stories are at times quite bittersweet and dark, but also captivating and so beautiful. For many of these stories, this is the first time that they have been translated into English, and it's exciting yet frustrating to think of how much wonderful literature there is out there like this that we might never get the chance to read. Very luckily, Shakir has taken the time to translate these stories.
The way Iraq exists in the minds of these authors and their various stories are at times quite bittersweet and dark, but also captivating and so beautiful. For many of these stories, this is the first time that they have been translated into English, and it's exciting yet frustrating to think of how much wonderful literature there is out there like this that we might never get the chance to read. Very luckily, Shakir has taken the time to translate these stories.
February 18, 2012
One has to approach a literary tradition so dramatically different--and older--as the Arabic one judiciously. We tend to view Arab culture (when we look at it at all) through the prism of the West's preconceptions--which is to say, homogeneous and ossified, if not hostile. Shakir Mustafa's anthology eloquently rebuts those presumptions. It is diverse, representing Iraqis both at home and in exile, and including a fair number of women, and Jewish and Kurdish writers. The themes range from fantasy and what it means to create--Samuel Beckett and the film director John Ford are touchstones--some stories have an echo of tale-telling and folklore, others take place in claustrophobic urban apartments in Baghdad or England. Politics are treated, as one would expect, gingerly: there are no wars in this selection, but some satire of official corruption. Inexplicable imprisonment appears in several stories, handled very differently in each. The privations caused by the sanctions are harrowing--Ibtasim Abdullah's "The Nursery" and Mahmoud Saeed's "Bitter Morning" are as hard as any stories I've ever read. The image that emerges from this selection is of a vital short fiction community--that one hopes is still thriving, although there do not appear to be any post-Saddam stories--very engaged in the questions of what it means to be Iraqi and what it means to be human.
March 17, 2010
Some really lovely stuff here. None of the stories are long, many of them are heartbreakingly good. There's a very short one, "Morning Exercises" by Mahdi Isa al-Saqr, which I can't get out of my head. About a couple, their young son, and the moments immediately surrounding a bombing in their city. It's simple, and not gruesome, which somehow makes it more haunting.
July 23, 2008
I never realized that Persian/Iraqi fiction was so "magical-realistic". If you like short stories, love "magical-realism" (note: some experts say there is no such thing), and want to learn more about the modern Iraqi struggle through magnificent prose-- PLEASE READ!
July 25, 2009
When it's good, it's really good. Made me feel a little disoriented; things looked bright and grainy after reading the best of these stories, which I like. I think this anthology is a good addition to any world lit course.
November 9, 2017
A collection of short stories that shows strength and depth in Iraqi writing from the 1980s to the 2000s, all translated by Shakir Mustafa. Writers worth a second look include Luftiyya al-Dulaimi and Shmuel Moreh.
Read
November 15, 2009I liked what I read of this but returned it to the library unfinished and will likely try again another time.
January 17, 2010
A powerful collection, exhibiting the range and variety of Iraqi authors and their literary approaches and life perspectives.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews