"In The Mood for Love" by Tunisian photographer Ons Ghimagi.

From a landfill on the outskirts of Marrakech to the palace of a fictional Egyptian prince, the latest issue of Amherst’s literary magazine, The Common, offers a glimpse into places around the world, both real and imagined. But what sets the issue apart isn’t the settings of the stories—it’s the authors. 

Titled Tajdeed (Renewal): Contemporary Arabic Stories, the issue features 26 emerging and established writers from 15 Middle Eastern countries. “When people think of Arabic writing, they often think of poetry. They often think, ‘It must be political,’” says Jennifer Acker ’00, The Common’s editor-in-chief. “This issue aims to show that neither is always the case, by publishing translated fiction and works by Arabic writers that aren’t necessarily political.”

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The Common, Issue 11 cover

Fewer than 1 percent of English translations have come from the Middle East since 2012, says Acker, who conceived the issue as a rare avenue for Arabic writers to publish in the United States, and also as a way to bring Middle Eastern contemporary literature to English-speaking audiences.

“There are so few avenues of discovery for Arabic voices,” Acker says. “This volume can make a real difference in raising awareness of the exciting and varied stories being written right now across the Middle East.”

Tajdeed includes short stories from such celebrated authors as Hassan Blasim (from Iraq) and Mohamed Makhzangi (from Egypt) alongside new voices, including Rasha Abbas (from Syria) and others who have never before been published in English. With introductions by acclaimed Egyptian writer Youssef Rakha and Cairo-based journalist M. Lynx Qualey, Tajdeed offers fresh insight into the themes and innovative forms of contemporary Arabic writing.

For instance, Lebanese author Mona Merhi explores the suburbs of Cairo in Haphazardia, while Abderrazak Boukebba, an emerging writer from Algeria, reflects on the process of writing in The Death Shroud: Nine Stories and a Single Set of Characters.

“With so much uncertainty in our future, today’s new Arabic writing is more related to raising questions than giving answers,” says Jordanian author Hisham Bustani, who co-edited the publication with Acker and contributed a story about a suicidal painter set in a nightmarish landscape. “[Arabic] writers are including the reader in the process of imagination,” Bustani says, “including nontraditional techniques like hallucinations, dreams and fragmented characters.”

The Qatar-based news organization Al-Jazeera hailed the issue as “an English translation of Arabic literature that excels in the sharing the voices of Arabic writing with the United States,” while al-Mamarr in Egypt described it as “a volume that breaks the naïve stereotypes about the Arab World.” The Kuwaiti daily Al-Qabas called the issue “a quantum leap for Arabic literature available in translation for U.S. audiences."

“We are immensely proud of the attention Tajdeed has brought to Arabic writing,” Acker says, “and we’re eager to continue publishing work from this underappreciated, yet brilliant, part of the world.”


The Art of Story

In addition to featuring stories by Middle Eastern writers, Tajdeed includes artworks by renowned and emerging Arabic artists. Their paintings, photographs and mixed media works offer visual interpretations of life in the Middle East.

Award-winning Syrian artist Reem Yassouf often depicts people, buildings, animals and mythological creatures in her work. She has said that her use of the color white “symbolizes purity in a world overcome by war and destruction.”
Bader Mahasneh is a Jordanian painter, photographer and sculptor. He says his work "explores the aesthetic values of the human figure in its transformation through media and time."
Ons Ghimagi is a Tunisian photographer whose work has been featured in several international exhibitions. Citing painting and cinema as influences, she has sought to define her own style and refers to her photographs as “human life sequences."

Purchase the Issue

Cover of Issue 11

Co-edited by Jennifer Acker '00 and Jordanian author Hisham Bustani, Issue 11 features 26 authors from 15 countries across the Middle East, plus photographs and paintings from 5 Arabic artists.

Link to Purchase