Speaking in Tongues, Night Terrors in Arabic

"Night Terror," the first story in the short story collection Double Dutch by Laura Trunkey begins with the following passage: "He was speaking Arabic in his sleep. Her son -- who could barely manage three words in a row in English -- had an incredible fluency in a language she recognised only from television news clips." …

Rim Banna at MELA Festival

Palestinian singer Rim Banna is performing in MELA Festival in Oslo, the 17th of August. Banna first achieved prominence on the international stage in 2003, joining Norwegian jazz singer Kari Bremnes on the antiwar album "Lullabies from the Axis of Evil." Since then, Banna has become known for her updating of traditional Palestinian songs, lullabies …

This Cell of Mine

 I first came across Samih al-Qasim's poetry in Emile Habiby's The Pessoptimist, which begins with the following poem from The Quran of Death and Jasmine:You men! You women! You sheiks and rabbis and cardinals! And, you, nurses and textile workers! You have waited so long And the postman has not knocked on your door Bringing …