new on the blog
An Interview with Julia Bray
Why does translator Julia Bray think Tanūkhī’s tales “outclass the Nights in every way,” and why does she call him “the opposite of imperturbable”? In the first of a two-part discussion on the charming, self-pitying, and erudite Tanūkhī, Bray talks about the author and what his Deliverance Follows Adversity might have meant to him and his contemporaries, as well as the ways in which it’s been passed down, adapted, and understood by later readers.
Read the interview here
New in Paperback
Brains Confounded by the Ode of Abu Shaduf Expounded, a satirical look at the poetry of rural Ottoman-era Egypt, features a new foreword by the award-winning novelist Youssef Rakha. The second volume also includes Risible Rhymes. “Lucid and imaginative…the translation is thankfully reliable and delightfully readable…a remarkable achievement in many ways” (Journal of the American Oriental Society).

The Sword of Ambition opens a window onto interreligious rivalry in medieval Egypt and reminds us that “religious” conflict must always be considered in its broader historical perspective.
See all our English-only paperbacks
Keep in Touch
Sign up to receive email updates!
Never miss a great read—sign up to receive our email newsletter here. We’ll send you news about our latest books, events, and special offers.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter, too, at @LibraryArabLit!
Subscribe
New on the Blog
“The pen is a tree the fruit of which is meaning.”
In this excerpt from The Sword of Ambition: Bureaucratic Rivalry in Medieval Egypt, translated by Luke Yarbrough, the unemployed bureaucrat ‘Uthman ibn Ibrahim al-Nabulusi describes what he believes are essential qualifications for being a good secretary.
Read more
In the Media
“Arabic Translation Comes of Age”: An Interview with Al-Ahram Weekly
Al-Ahram Weekly recently published an in-depth interview with LAL editors Philip Kennedy, James Montgomery, Shawkat Toorawa, and Chip Rossetti.
Read more