This volume celebrates the magnificent achievement of 20th-century Middle Eastern literature that has been neglected in the English-speaking world.
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Nov 11, 2011
Eric
rated it: 
Still reading, I am really struck by the eclectic voices found in this volume. the book spans a century across a region so diverse that of course, a volume containing "landscapes" of the middle east, hits ya pretty hard, as say, a well put together anthology of 20th century short american fiction and poetry would . as seen through the lens of an Westerner, these stories and poems have "magic" to them. beyond that west-east dichotomy though, there are some truly magnificent
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Aug 22, 2011
i don't have this yet, but read this review in the nation 8.29.11:
"Published on The Nation (http://www.thenation.com)
Shelf Life
Elias Muhanna | August 10, 2011
So many anthologies exude a weary air, devoted as they are to tracing the outlines of a canon or a career. Perhaps the best thing about Tablet and Pen: Literary Landscapes From the Modern Middle East (Norton; $35), which samples 100 years’ worth of fiction, poetry and memoir from four major world lan More...
"Published on The Nation (http://www.thenation.com)
Shelf Life
Elias Muhanna | August 10, 2011
So many anthologies exude a weary air, devoted as they are to tracing the outlines of a canon or a career. Perhaps the best thing about Tablet and Pen: Literary Landscapes From the Modern Middle East (Norton; $35), which samples 100 years’ worth of fiction, poetry and memoir from four major world lan More...
Dec 08, 2011
Canova
rated it:
Aslan writes in his introduction, "Tablet and Pen spans a century of poems, short stories, novels, memoirs, and essays translated from Arabic, Persian, Turkish, and Urdu--languages that too often have been neglected in the canon of world literature...This is not an anthology to be tasted in disparate bits but rather a single sustained narrative to be consumed as a whole..."
Having written that, I feel Aslan, through his authority as editor, has neglected many women voices, p More...
Having written that, I feel Aslan, through his authority as editor, has neglected many women voices, p More...
Nov 16, 2010
I just heard Riza Aslan interviewed on The Diane Rehm show today (11/16/10). He has such a passion and fascination with the writing and poetry in this part of the world that he wanted to be able to share some of it with Americans those of us who do not speak Hebrew or Urdu or some of the other languages this book was translated from.
Riza talks about this book being a history book of the middle east from the perspective of writers and poets over the past century. It's also an antholog More...
Riza talks about this book being a history book of the middle east from the perspective of writers and poets over the past century. It's also an antholog More...
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Sep 19, 2011
Jason
rated it: 
(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted illegally.)
Like many Americans, since 9/11 I've become much more interested than ever before in such subjects as the Middle East, the "Arab World" and the "Muslim World," and have been reading up more and more on the history and culture of the region; and one of the first things you lear More...
Like many Americans, since 9/11 I've become much more interested than ever before in such subjects as the Middle East, the "Arab World" and the "Muslim World," and have been reading up more and more on the history and culture of the region; and one of the first things you lear More...
Jun 02, 2011
Mary
rated it:
Its physical size and sweeping scope was intimidating but the
way it's organized makes navigation easy and the writing--both
poetry and prose--is beguiling. And despite, or because of,
starting with Kahlil Gibran (in muscular prose--did his translators
serve him weakly in that famous/infamous poetry?) you can't help
wanting to go on. Formidable from a distance, very approachable
up close. 1910 to the present, translations from Urdu, Hindi,
Persian, Arabic. Hal More...
way it's organized makes navigation easy and the writing--both
poetry and prose--is beguiling. And despite, or because of,
starting with Kahlil Gibran (in muscular prose--did his translators
serve him weakly in that famous/infamous poetry?) you can't help
wanting to go on. Formidable from a distance, very approachable
up close. 1910 to the present, translations from Urdu, Hindi,
Persian, Arabic. Hal More...
Mar 27, 2011
Karlan
rated it:
Poetry and prose selections from Morocco to Pakistan are divided into three 20th century time periods with a chronology and short introduction to each era. Words without Borders created a fine anthology of translated work from Arabic, Farsi, Turkish and Urdu.
Nov 22, 2010
Mary
rated it:
It's an excellent idea to use literature to promote understanding of this sadly misunderstood region. Literature engages us both intellectually and emotionally, so this can touch people in a way historical or political texts might now. There are a few relatively familiar names here, such as Khalil Gibran and Orhan Pamuk, but it's a wonderful introduction to new authors.
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Feb 20, 2011
Sara
rated it:
LOVED this book. It is a collection of poems, excerpts, and stories from the Islamic World arranged by date. Every new work was a little gift to read. The book is long, and heavy - beware when reading in bed :-)
Mar 16, 2011
Elaine
rated it:
I FINALLY finished this book and it was completely worth it! I keep telling people it was like trying to read Shakespeare and Melville and Twain and Poe all at once. All of it is great literature, but very dense. I would not recommend picking this up for "light reading," but if you want to understand a little more about what is going on in the Middle East right now, I suggest you get yourself a copy of Tablet and Pen. So much backstory and history that you can read in a newspaper a
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Jan 11, 2011
Alana
rated it:
Fantastic work. Usually writings are grouped somewhat randomly, but this was arranged geographically and chronologically and it worked so well, like little peeks into eras and countries.
All hail Reza Aslan as editor.
All hail Reza Aslan as editor.
Sep 21, 2011
Yasaman
rated it:
So four stars = really liking it isn't quite true, since this is the kind of thing I don't so much enjoy as appreciate. This is like the broccoli of my literary diet: it is not enjoyable per se, but it's good for me and makes me feel virtuous. Anyway, this is well-edited and (mostly) well translated. The Persian selections were almost entirely new to me, so yay to more variety than I got in my classes.
Feb 08, 2012
Caroline
rated it: 
Enjoyed this. Took quite a while to read as one has to stop frequently to break up so many different voices. I did feel a disproportionate amount of writing from Iran; I would have like to hear more from north Africa, Turkey, etc.
Feb 08, 2011
Colleen
rated it:
Very engaging collection. Do as suggested and read it front to back. All 600+ pages. Trust me, it's worth it.
Feb 06, 2012
Kevin
rated it:
Now, I find myself reading this book through the lens of recent events in Middle East
Feb 19, 2012
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