January 31, 2007

Daniel and Daniel

Daniel Alarcón, whose novel Lost City Radio comes out next month, is interviewed by Daniel Olivas over at TEV.

DANIEL OLIVAS: Why did you decide to set your novel in an unnamed South American country? Why not place it specifically in Peru?

DANIEL ALARCÓN: In writing this novel, I didn’t want to feel restricted in any way by the history, geography, or social landscape of Peru. It wasn’t my intention to be coy: I’m Peruvian, the general arc of the war as it unfolds in the novel is similar to that of the Peruvian conflict, and everyone will be able to recognize this. Still, the more I’ve traveled, the more places I’ve seen and people I’ve talked to, the more it has become clear to me that the forces shaping the future of a city like Lima are at work in developing countries all over the planet. When I was on tour last, for War by Candlelight, I always found myself saying, “If Peru was an invented country, and Lima an invented city, many people would still recognize it,” and I guess I sort of followed my own advice.

You can read the rest of this, and other answers, here.

Today in Letters

Brian Sholis has started a cool little blog where he shares writers' correspondence: Today in Letters. Samples: A letter from Paul Bowles to his editor Daniel Halpern, or one from Henry James to William Dean Howells.

Gay Muslims in Europe

Yesterday's Morning Edition on NPR included a segment by Emily Harris about the challenges faced by gay Muslims in Europe. It was interesting to learn, for example, that gay Muslim organizations used to deal primarily with homophobia from their own community, but in the last few years they have been dealing more with Islamophobia from Europeans. The segment also includes an interview with Moroccan writer Abdellah Taïa.

Thanks to Anne for the link.

January 29, 2007

Abani's Latest

The hard-working Chris Abani has a new novel out, The Virgin of Flames, which is about a biracial mural artist looking for himself in Los Angeles. Writing in the L.A. Times, Rubén Martinez finds that

All of this makes for a strange tension, a dissonance between simplistic dichotomies and the ambiguous renderings that Abani wants to paint for us in much the same way that Black paints his post-colonial, post-Sept. 11 Madonna. At times, Black comes across as the New Angeleno Man, a being of diffuse identity imbued not with superficial multiculturalism but with a more human wistfulness. "With an Igbo father and Salvadoran mother," Abani writes, "Black never felt he was much of either. It was a curious feeling, like being a bird, he thought, swaying on a wire somewhere, breaking for the sky when night and rain came, except for him it never felt like flight, more like falling; falling and drowning in cold, cold water. When he felt the water rise, he would morph." (...) Ultimately, "The Virgin of Flames" cannot fulfill the massive task of representing the transformation of Los Angeles into the astonishing and troubled amalgam of peoples it has become. Nor is this necessarily Abani's goal; he is, after all, concerned as much with Black's psychic landscape as with the social geography of L.A. How the novel is read, I suspect, will have much to do with readers' places in the city, their relationships with whoever their "others" happen to be.

Meanwhile, Karen Olsson, who reviews the book for the New York Times, says:

Just as Black combines racist jokes and lines from Wallace Stevens in a work entitled “American Gothic — The Remix,” so Abani imagines a place that is horrifying and tender and absurd in equal measure. But with its uneven tone and meandering story, the book doesn’t quite hold together. The language veers from portentous to reportorial, and sometimes falls flat, as in a dull first-date scene between Black and Sweet Girl. As a result the final conflagration carries less impact than it might have.

Still, these are the missteps of an ambitious writer with an original perspective. In “The Virgin of Flames” he audaciously stakes his claim on a city not his own. And wisely, he doesn’t so much try to reveal its hidden side as to give it a costume, or a paint job, of his own making.

I have to say I am very intrigued as to what Abani will make of Los Angeles, and I want to read his book.

War Protests

Readers of this blog are probably aware of my utter disagreement with the U.S. government's foreign policy. I think the country is being run by an imbecile, and that the war he started in Iraq is an unmitigated disaster. So imagine my surprise at finding myself in the unusual position of having to defend the United States. When Alex and I were in Europe a few days ago, we both noticed really strong anti-U.S. sentiment, much stronger in Paris than here in Casablanca--and that is saying something. People are very angry about the war in Iraq (who can blame them?) but they also seem to think that all Americans approve of it and have bought Bush's lies. I hope the pictures of the anti-war protest this past weekend in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere in the nation, make it on world media.

Photo credits: Jim Bourg/Reuters; Joshua Roberts/Reuters.

January 26, 2007

HODP in Tingis

The latest issue of Tingis, the Moroccan American magazine of culture and ideas, includes a long review by Anouar Majid of my book, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits.

The More Things Change...

Journalist Issandr El Amrani has an opinion piece on Tompaine.com about how the U.S. is actively building the new SADDAM:

Having made a mess of Iraq, continuing to refuse to play a constructive and even-handed role in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and having gotten bored with democracy promotion, the Bush administration now appears to be fanning the flames of sectarian strife region-wide. Since September 2006, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Vice President Dick Cheney and other senior administration officials have made trips to the Middle East to rally the support of what Rice has described as the “moderate mainstream” Arab states against Iran. This group has now been formalized as the “GCC + 2,” meaning the six members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Oman) as well as Egypt and Jordan.

I suggest that this new coalition be renamed to something less technocratic: the Sunni Arab-Dominated Dictatorships Against the Mullahs, or SADDAM. I have to confess I was inspired by historical precedent.

Read more here.

Reading Recap: Fes

I took the train to Fes yesterday to give a reading from Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits at the Moroccan Cultural Studies Centre at Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah University. The students had all read the book and some of my articles beforehand, so we had a very lively and thorough discussion after the reading. I was so impressed with their talent and intelligence--they asked good questions, tough questions, and I was thrilled to have such an engaged group of readers. My only regret is that it was such a short trip (I had to get back to Casablanca, and back to my desk) and I saw nothing of the city. I think the last time I was in Fes was when I was nine or ten, and I really want to go back and do a proper visit.

January 24, 2007

Trueblood Interview

Valerie Trueblood--who contributed a guest recommendation here a little while ago--is interviewed over at the LBC about her novel, Seven Loves.

January 23, 2007

The Question

I like the cover of this week's Nation. It states simply:

World opinion is against the U.S. escalation in Iraq. The American people are against it. Congress is against it. The Iraqi people are against it. The Iraqi government is against it. Can a single man force a nation to fight a war it does not want to fight, expand a war it does not want to expand? If he can, is that nation any longer a democracy in any meaningful sense? If not, how can democratic rule and the republican form of government be restored?

And the full editorial is here.

Dink's Murder

I had never heard of Hrant Dink until four days ago, when news of his brutal slaying in front of his office in Istanbul made world headlines. And then the information began to filter--Dink was the founder and editor of the newspaper Agos; he was Armenian and had written about the genocide of one million of his people in 1915 by the Ottoman rulers; and he had been the first journalist to be convicted under Article 301, that vile law that has already gotten Orhan Pamuk, Elif Shafak, and many other known and unknown writers and journalists into trouble. It was Dink's conviction that brought him into the spotlight. Here's what Orhan Pamuk said:

"We have killed a man whose ideas we could not accept," Orhan Pamuk said, when he visited Hrant Dink's home and office on Sunday.

"We are all responsible for his death, but above all those who still defend Article 301 and insist it should stay are guilty - those who launched a campaign against Hrant Dink as an enemy of the Turks and marked him out as a target."

This is a depressing picture of Turkey, a country that wants to join the E.U., but cannot seem to let its writers and journalists speak their minds. But the spontaneous outcry and grief over Dink's death makes me wonder if the people of Turkey will finally get serious about stopping the madness. For instance, the silent march today at his funeral, behind a banner that reads "We are all Hrant Dink. We are all Armenians." is one step. But the road is long.

January 22, 2007

Iranian Intellectuals On Holocaust Conference

The February 15 issue of the New York Review of Books contains a letter by Gholam Reza Afkhami and over one hundred other Iranian intellectuals, writers, and artists, including Azar Nafisi, Marjane Satrapi, and Shahrnush Parsipur, contesting the Holocaust conference recently sponsored by the government of Iran:

We the undersigned Iranians,

Notwithstanding our diverse views on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict;

Considering that the Nazis' coldly planned "Final Solution" and their ensuing campaign of genocide against Jews and other minorities during World War II constitute undeniable historical facts;

Deploring that the denial of these unspeakable crimes has become a propaganda tool that the Islamic Republic of Iran is using to further its own agendas;

Noting that the new brand of anti-Semitism prevalent in the Middle East today is rooted in European ideological doctrines of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, and has no precedent in Iran's history;

Emphasizing that this is not the first time that the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has resorted to the denial and distortion of historical facts;

Recalling that this government has refused to acknowledge, among other things, its mass execution of its own citizens in 1988, when thousands of political prisoners, previously sentenced to prison terms, were secretly executed because of their beliefs;

Strongly condemn the Holocaust Conference sponsored by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Tehran on December 11–12, 2006, and its attempt to falsify history;

Pay homage to the memory of the millions of Jewish and non-Jewish victims of the Holocaust, and express our empathy for the survivors of this immense tragedy as well as all other victims of crimes against humanity across the world.

You can view the letter and its signatories here.

January 19, 2007

Back Home

I came back home to Casablanca to news of Aboubakr Jamaï's resignation from Le Journal Hebdo. Could things get any worse for the press in Morocco? Wait. Don't answer that.

January 17, 2007

Marjane Satrapi's Chicken with Plums

My review of Marjane Satrapi's graphic novel Chicken with Plums appears in today's Boston Globe. Here's an excerpt:

It shouldn't come as a surprise to Satrapi's many dedicated fans that she has mined her family's rich history again. In "Persepolis," she told of her coming of age in Iran, during the Islamic Revolution and the long, bloody war with Iraq. In "Persepolis 2," she wrote of her teenage life in Austria, where her parents sent her so she could finish high school away from the constant harassments of the mullahs. In "Embroideries," she recounted an afternoon tea party at her grandmother's house, and used it to create an eye-opening portrait of sexual relations in modern-day Iran. Now she gives us the story of her great-uncle, turning it into a meditation on art and love, and the necessity of both to any life worth living.

You can read it all here.

January 16, 2007

Nichane: Update

Last month, I mentioned that the magazine Nichane had been banned, and its editor-in-chief and one of its journalists put on trial, all for a cover story on jokes deemed "insulting to Islam." The case went to court in Casablanca on January 8th, and the verdict was pronounced yesterday: Three years' probation for editor Driss Ksikes and journalist Sanaa Al Aji, a fine of 80,000 dirhams each, and a punitive ban of two months, meaning that the magazine would only be back on newsstands at the end of February.

This is very harsh. And it's frightening that, compared with the verdict the prosecution was seeking -- five years' prison time; complete ban of the publication; ban of its journalists from practicing their profession -- it sounds downright magnanimous. Still, the verdict is yet another wake-up call for those who thought that the tangible progress we witnessed in terms of press freedom over the last few years was a permanent gain. This hastily prosecuted case is a strong signal that there are still "red lines" (Islam, the king, the Sahara question) that cannot be crossed.

The magazine plans to appeal, but in the meantime the verdict is a Sword of Damocles hanging over the journalists' heads. Any false step, any perceived insult, and all that needs to happen is for someone to sue them before they'll find themselves at risk of firm prison time. Perhaps that's exactly what the government wanted--putting them, and all the other journalists, on notice. In addition, the government gets to play the card of "protector of Islam," thus defeating religious conservatives at their own game. But this is a dangerous game, because conservatives will only escalate the situation, attacking anything they perceive as offensive. It's a sad day.

Related: Twenty Moroccan writers and intellectuals have signed a petition in support of Nichane; Fadoua Benaich and Jesse Sage have an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times; popular blogger Larbi continues to offer a forum for discussing the issue.

January 15, 2007

Dutch Wrap Up

I had set my novel aside during the hectic move to Casablanca, and when I picked it up again a few weeks ago and reread it, I noticed a strong satirical element throughout. Then I was invited to the Winternachten literary festival, and I was asked if I could take part in a two-day workshop on... satire. It's perhaps only a coincidence. But I think writing a novel is a bit like converting to a new religion; one starts to see signs everywhere. The workshop became a sign of something the universe was trying to tell me--that I should embrace the satirical element, maybe. It's all a bit silly, really. Still, the first two days I spent in the Hague proved extremely useful, and made me see a bit more clearly what I am trying to do in my work. (The amusing bit is that we couldn't even agree on a good definition of satire beyond "We know it when we see it.")

After the workshop, I met with my Dutch editor, did a few press interviews, and hung out with a good friend of mine. I also read from Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits in front of a packed house at Theater aan het Spui. Abdelkader Benali was a great, tough interviewer, and he asked me questions about the book that I don't think I've been asked at any of my readings in the US. I had a wonderful, wonderful time. I even managed to steal some time away to go visit the Vermeers that were on display at Maurithuis, a wonderful little museum in the Hague. The most inspiring element of the whole trip was being surrounded by so many Moroccan and Dutch Moroccan writers, poets, musicians, and artists. I felt so energized and ready to take on the world--or at least the rest of my novel.

I am now in Paris for a couple of days, doing some interviews for the French edition of Hope. More soon, I hope.

January 12, 2007

Reading: The Hague, Netherlands

Tonight I'll be reading from Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits at the Winternachten Literature Festival. This will be followed by a conversation with Abdelkader Benali. Here are the details:

9:40 PM
Reading and Discussion
Winternachten Literature Festival
The Hague, Netherlands

If you happen to be in town, come by and say hello!

January 10, 2007

At Winternachten

I am awfully busy here in the Hague, and don't have time to compose a proper post, so I give you instead a photo of the Moroccans present here. From left: Novelist and playwright Abdelkader Benali, me, and novelist and essayist Fouad Laroui.

January 09, 2007

In Den Haag

I am in The Hague this week to take part in Winternachten. I've visited the Netherlands only once before, and I stayed mostly in Amsterdam then. I remember long afternoons spent walking along the canals, hours and hours spent at the museums (The Night Watch and The Milkmaid were on display), and the taste of those amazing Dutch pancakes. It is my first time visiting The Hague, a city about which I know next to nothing. I hope to find out more.

January 05, 2007

Fouad Laroui's Refutation

One of the pleasures of living in Casablanca is having easy access to books by Moroccan writers (or indeed by anyone who writes in Arabic or French or anyone translated in these languages.) So when I heard that Fouad Laroui had a new book out, an essay collection titled De L'islamisme, I popped into the Carrefour des Livres to pick up a copy. They were sold out. No problem, I thought, and I went over to Livre Service. They were sold out, too. I had to call two or three other bookstores before I could locate one copy (one!) at Gauthier Livres. (Coincidentally, the last remaining copy was set up next to a stack of The Caged Virgin by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.)

I stayed up until midnight last night to finish De L'islamisme. It's enormously readable, it has lots of humor (just like Laroui's novels), and it manages to bring a few fresh perspectives on a topic that has been beaten half to death. Laroui's background in science also comes in handy as he deconstructs some of the ridiculous claims made by religious extremists, crackpot scientists, and other assorted imbeciles. My one complaint about the book is that it does not have source notes or a bibliography. For instance, Laroui writes things like "Voici ce que nous dit un commentateur," but doesn't always say who he has in mind, and I am not so well-read as to figure it out each time. I need names, dates, publications! It's otherwise a very enjoyable book, a well-crafted mix of memoir and objective analysis that never gets precious or heavy.

January 04, 2007

'It's Still By The Book'

I have a brief opinion piece in the Guardian about the hoopla surrounding Keith Ellison's swearing-in ceremony today. A snippet:

Ultimately, however, Keith Ellison was not elected in order to represent Muslims, but in order to represent Minnesotans, regardless of their faith. So I hope that, once the curiosity has waned, the media will remember this important fact. I hope they will let him attend to his work, just like any other Congressperson. I hope they won't go to him every time they need a sound bite on American Muslims, or, worse, on Islamic fundamentalism. I hope they just leave him alone.

You can read it all here.

January 03, 2007

Ahdaf Soueif's I Think Of You

Ahdaf Soueif's new book, a collection of short stories titled I Think Of You, comes out in March in the United States. I was slightly disappointed when I found out that the pieces in this book have all been previously published, either in Soueif's first collection Aicha (1983), or in her second, Sandpiper (1996). Those books were not published in the United States, though, and in any case they are somewhat hard to find through online booksellers, so this new collection, which culls the best stories from both, makes perfect sense. I recommend, in particular, the stories "1964," "I Think Of You," and "Sandpiper."

Profile in Vacature

For those who are curious (and who speak Dutch): There is an interview with me by Jan Stevens in the Belgian magazine Vacature.

(Photo credit: Stijn Pieters)

January 02, 2007

Dictator Dead, Chaos Continues

I was at a jeweler's on the rue des Consuls in Rabat when I heard the news that Saddam had been hanged. I looked up from the silver necklace I was admiring to see the hazy, greenish video of the bearded dictator being led to the gallows. "They hung him?" I said. I had heard of the sentence pronounced by the U.S.-controlled Iraqi court, but I had thought it would take a few weeks, if not months, before it was carried out. The jeweler, an old man in a gray jellaba and white skullcap, shook his head. "It's only going to make it worse for the Iraqis," he said. "And they did it on Eid, too!" he said. "Why couldn't they have waited a few days?" The implication was clear: The hanging of Saddam on the eve of Eid was a deliberate act of humiliation. And we all know how well that works. Already Sunnis are marching in Samarra, Tikrit, and elsewhere. There will be more violence, more bloodshed. If an old man sitting in his shop in the medina has more sense than the "leader of the free world," then there is no hope for Iraq.

Holidays 2007

Since my parents are out of town at the moment, we spent the Eid el-Adha (or Eid el-Kebir) holiday with my uncle in Rabat. It was a lovely weekend getaway, and I was surprised to rediscover so many details I had forgotten: The way that sheep bleat incessantly the day before, and then are absolutely quiet when the hour comes; how I always consider becoming vegetarian that day; how the smell of mint tea combined with that of melted crepine on boulfaf makes me succumb every time. After the meal, we looked through boxes and boxes of family photos, made and received phone calls, and sat out on the terrace. But I stayed out too long, and then woke up the next day with a horrible cold and migraine. My best wishes to all of you for a happy and very healthy new year.

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04.26: LA Times Festival of Books
04.30: Claremont, California
09.23-10.04: International Literature Festival Berlin

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