| Children of the Waters Contributor(s): Salem, Ibtihal (Author), Booth, Marilyn (Translator) |
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ISBN: 0292777736 ISBN-13: 9780292777736 Publisher: Ctr for Middle Eastern Studies Ut-Austin OUR PRICE: $19.75 Product Type: Paperback Published: January 2003 Annotation: Ibtihal Salem's writing provides an excellent forum for studying both everyday life in Egypt and current literary experimentation in the Middle East. Her poignant pieces hover between the structure of story-telling, the visuality of vignettes, and the compression of poetry. They both record and evoke a literary ferment going on in Egypt today. Salem's writing of the last thirty years is lauded for its social messages also. Finding the expression of sexuality necessary to explicate problems of Egyptian identity, Salem often links poverty to gender marginality. Her heroines, however, celebrate the heritages that have shaped them, even as they resist certain aspects of them. Like many writers in Egypt, Salem honors traditional folktales, even as she deals with contemporary problems from class and economic perspectives. Marilyn Booth, one of the best translators of Arabic fiction working today, has dealt in her introduction to this collection with the unusual experimental form by examining Salem's craft as well as the contextual history surrounding the stories. Since Salem is writing "across genres," Booth helps the reader also by opening each piece with an explanatory comment, often quoting the author, and thus further illuminating Salem's portrayals of lives bounded by Egypt's waters-- the Canal, the Nile, and the Mediterranean. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Fiction | Short Stories (single Author) |
| Dewey: FIC |
| LCCN: 2002111854 |
| Series: Modern Middle East Literature in Translation |
| Physical Information: 0.32" H x 6.06" W x 8.24" (0.43 lbs) 132 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: Ibtihal Salem's writing provides an excellent forum for studying both everyday life in Egypt and current literary experimentation in the Middle East. Her poignant pieces hover between the structure of story-telling, the visuality of vignettes, and the compression of poetry. They both record and evoke a literary ferment going on in Egypt today. Salem's writing of the last thirty years is lauded for its social messages also. Finding the expression of sexuality necessary to explicate problems of Egyptian identity, Salem often links poverty to gender marginality. Her heroines, however, celebrate the heritages that have shaped them, even as they resist certain aspects of them. Like many writers in Egypt, Salem honors traditional folktales, even as she deals with contemporary problems from class and economic perspectives. Marilyn Booth, one of the best translators of Arabic fiction working today, has dealt in her introduction to this collection with the unusual experimental form by examining Salem's craft as well as the contextual history surrounding the stories. Since Salem is writing across genres, Booth helps the reader also by opening each piece with an explanatory comment, often quoting the author, and thus further illuminating Salem's portrayals of lives bounded by Egypt's waters--the Canal, the Nile, and the Mediterranean. |
Contributor Bio(s): Salem, Ibtihal: - Egyptian novelist IBTIHAL SALEM is currently experimenting with writing children's literature and translating literature from French for publication and for radio broadcast.Booth, Marilyn: - MARILYN BOOTH is an independent scholar and freelance literary translator whose research and writing focus on gender and writing in Egypt, popular culture, and human rights. She lives in Columbus, Ohio. |