Arab lit magazine features works of Syrian short-story master
Arab lit magazine features works of Syrian short-story master
Culture: Arabic literary magazine Banipal has featured newly translated works of Syrian short story writer Zakaria Tamer in its latest issue.
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Two of Tamer's short story collections have been translated into English [Jaber Al Azmeh]
The Arabic translation literary magazine Banipal has released this year's summer issue, which dedicates more than 130 pages to the works of the master of the Arabic-language short story, Zakaria Tamer.
The magazine has released 29 new translations of the Syrian author's stories in translation, including 13 illustrated children's stories, articles on his works, reviews and a major interview.
"The main reason for the feature on Zakaria Tamer is the quality and originality of his writing, and the great contribution he has made to modern Arabic literature," said Banipal co-founder Margaret Obank.
The magazine has released 29 new translations of the Syrian author's stories in translation, including 13 illustrated children's stories, articles on his works, reviews and a major interview.
"The main reason for the feature on Zakaria Tamer is the quality and originality of his writing, and the great contribution he has made to modern Arabic literature," said Banipal co-founder Margaret Obank.
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"The feature shows our admiration for his writing and for the way he has developed the short story as a genre. At this time, when the Arab world is in major upheaval and turmoil - though some of us wonder if it has ever been otherwise - is indeed the time to turn to an author who has given so much in pursuit of freedom of expression, human rights and liberty through his inspiring and inimitable writings.
Tamer, 84, has had a strong influence on modern Arabic literature with his satire and black humour challenging orientalist stereotypes and making him unpopular with mainstream Anglophone publishers.
Born in a working-class district in Damascus, Tamer apprenticed to a blacksmith as he educated himself by reading books before he began his literary career in 1958.
"I left school when I was 13 and started reading without any guidance from anyone," the Syrian author said in a recent interview with al-Araby al-Jadeed’s Dima Alchukr.
"No one in our household read. It was an environment proud of ignorance. The first time I saw a book that was not a school book I felt enchanted."
A translation of the interview, which covers topics ranging from his childhood to his latest satirical essays directed against "oppression and oppressors", is included in the latest Banipal release.
Alessandro Columbu, who translated Tamer's Breaking Knees collection into Sardo, the Sardinian language, said Tamer's works "make him a perfect literary companion for those who wish to discover Syria".
Banipal is dedicated to promoting contemporary Arab literature through translations in English. The magazine has been publishing works and interviews of Arab authors and poets, often for the first time in English, since its launch in 1998.
