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From Stephen Elliott
Now That We Have Tasted Hope archives the “most important” primary source documents of the Arab Spring. Published by McSweeney’s and Byliner, and edited by Rumpus contributor Daniel Gumbiner, the book derives its title from Khaled Mattawa’s poem by the same name.
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I saw Syria this summer, for the first time since 1976.
“The guidebook I researched last winter was never published, put on hold when the Arab Spring surged into Libya that February. I was writing a guidebook to a country that no longer exists; a country where busloads of Italian tourists gathered around hotel buffets; where billboards advertised the Qaddafi brand—forty-one years, they sang, the leader’s face peering down at the cars on the highways like that of a god who thought he created them.
...more“The concept of the ‘individual’ has been born during these revolts. At the same time, tribal structures and ethnic traditions will not simply disappear. Tribal culture will have to enter into a modern framework and that is very complicated but individualism is here to stay.”
In this interview, Moroccan-born novelist and poet Ben Taher Jelloun opens up about the Arab Spring, the challenges of post-dictatorship nations, and the anticipation of a “creative boom.” Jelloun discusses the importance of Arab writers’ visibility in Europe, distinguishes between revolution and revolt, and speaks on writing from Gadhafi’s perspective.
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Dear Dudes:
As a fellow white male, I understand how tough it is to get oneself noticed above the din of all the other white male voices out there.
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