Arabic Poetry: Transformation or Roar?
Two beautiful books that I read recently 
— Nihad Sirees’s The Silence and the Roar and Nostalgia, My Enemy – give two very different reports on the life of poetry.
Early in Nihad Sirees’s sharp The Silence at the Roar (trans. in clear, ninja-warrior style by Max Weiss), the protagonist Fathi Sheen decries the influence of Arabic poetry:
Brown University
IWP Fellow, Nihad Sirees, Receives PEN Award
Syrian novelist Nihad Sirees, Brown University’s 2012-13 International Writers Project Fellow, has been named as the recipient of an English PEN Award for outstanding writing in translation for his novel, The Silence and the Roar.
The novel, translated by Max Weiss of Princeton University, centers on a day in the life of Fathi Schin, a well-known author who has been banned by the authorities from writing and publishing. The day in question is the twentieth anniversary of the rise to power of the “Great Leader” who banned Schin’s work – celebrations rage in the street as Schin seeks sanctuary at home with his loved ones.The Silence and The Roar wins the PEN award for 2013
The Silence and The Roar wins the PEN award for 2013 in UK
English PEN, the literature and human rights charity, today announces that six books are to receive the 2013 English PEN Award for outstanding writing in translation.
The Award uniquely recognises translated works of fiction, non-fiction or poetry which contribute to inter-cultural understanding and promote freedom of expression. An expert panel of publishing and literature professionals, chaired by Ros Schwartz, one of Britain’s foremost specialists in literary translation, met in November to review a long list of books in translation put forward by their UK publishers.
The award-winning titles are:
VISITING WRITER - Living the power, danger of words
Providence Journal
VISITING WRITER - Living the power, danger of words
Life is not guaranteed anymore,' says Brown visiting scholar about his Syrian homeland
Life was never easy for dissident Syrian novelist Nihad Sirees. His books were banned, and he and his family were watched by government security details.
But when civil war broke out last year in Syria and tanks rolled through the streets of his hometown of Aleppo, Sirees knew it was time to leave. He packed up and headed for Cairo in January, becoming one of the 40,000 Syrian refugees who have fled to Egypt.
Self-exiled Syrian author voices criticisms of regime
Chairs were closely clustered around a table of tea and homemade baklava in the Chelovich Family Lounge of the literary arts building this Thursday. In the intimate and informal environment, Nihad Sirees read from his novel, “Silence and the Roar,” the text marked with crossed-out lines and marginal notes.