Stories about Literature from December, 2007
New Bloggers Use Poetry to Describe Their Communities, Feelings, Friends
The new bloggers of Rising Voices outreach projects in Colombia, Bolivia, and Bangladesh are more than just up-and-coming citizen journalists. They have also discovered the power of prose to reveal glimpses of the human emotions that bring us together and the local differences that make each of our communities unique.
Egypt: Arabic Books
Egyptian blogger Eman recommends reading the following Arabic books.
Ethiopia: Queen of Sheba, Now Available in French
Francophone music blog Roots and Culture interviews Samuel Malher, a religious scholar from Strasbourg who has written the first unabridged French translation of the Kebra Negast, a sacred Ethiopian text. It describes the heritage of the Ethiopian monarchs, who trace their lineage to King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, and how the Ethiopians became God's new chosen people when the Ark of the Covenant was taken from Israel to Ethiopia.
Ethiopia: French Translation of the Kebra Nagast
Roots and Culture interviews [FR] Samuel Mahler, who recently translated the Kebra Nagast, a sacred text of many Ethiopian Christians and Rastafarians, into French.
West Africa: The four Cameroonian historical myths
Today, we are taking a tour of the West African blogosphere. Bloggers from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, and Nigeria are discussing children's books, historical myths, the military and politics.
Romania: Dracula
Csíkszereda Musings re-reads Bram Stoker's ‘Dracula’ and writes about his surprising ethnic origins as well as Romania's flourishing Dracula-centered tourism industry.
The Baltics: “Borderlands (V)”
There's something to grieve and much to celebrate when the Baltic states join the Schengen, writes Marginalia.
Uzbekistan: New Book of the Former BBC Reporter
Steve LeVine reviews the new book's release — Alan Johnston, the former Tashkent correspondent for the BBC, has a new book out called “Kidnapped and Other Dispatches.” His release was unharmed from four months of captivity in Gaza.
Russia: Dostoyevsky's Mock Execution Anniversary
ExecutedToday.com writes about Fyodor Dostoyevsky's mock execution of 1849.
Armenia: Robinson Crusoe in Kurdish
Kurdistan and Hayastan — Hand in Hand posts a scan of the front page of the Kurdish translation of Daniel Dafoe's classic book, Robinson Crusoe. The book was translated and published in the Kurmanji dialect of Kurdish in 1936.
Russia: Lyudmila Ulitskaya
Russian Blog writes about Lyudmila Ulitskaya's latest – and, possibly, her last – novel, “Daniel Stein, translator”: “After being such a prolific writer for many years, and after the huge work she put into her last effort, she of course deserves a break. Anyone who has read this masterpiece would...
Russia: “Don Putin”
Sean Guillory of Sean's Russia Blog is reminded of Godfather as he reads about “Putin’s acceptance to be Prime Minister if his protege Dima becomes President.”
Bahrain: A tenfold increase in population?!
This time the roundup from Bahrain covers three weeks. We have frustration on every front, unfortunately: frustration with being surrounded by apathy and ignorance, with being a teenager, and with a ludicrous criminal charge. One blogger is considering leaving the Gulf for a better life back in India, another admits he rarely reads, and a number of others are debating the merits of secularism.
Togo: Kangi Alem announces residency for young francophone writers
Kangi Alem announces an artists’ residency [Fr] in Lome for young francophone African writers.
Sri Lanka: Taking blogs seriously
London, Lanka and Drums reflects on blogging in the context of a session discussing blogs at the Galle Literary Festival.
Barbados: BIM Magazine
Gallimaufry is “really excited to hear…about the relaunch of Bim magazine”, a publication that was instrumental in the development of West Indian literature.
Israel: Arab Literacy Project
From Israel, Maya Norton writes about the UAE-based Kalima project, which aims to translate books written in different languages into Arabic.
Trinidad & Tobago: Lion House
Thebookmann features a wall painting of Lion House in Trinidad, made famous by V.S. Naipaul's A House for Mr. Biswas.
Jamaica: Christmas Poem
“It's time; time to wash away the smoke of the year's turmoil, to put aside profits, gains, losses–the familiar ache that brings tears in the bathroom mirror–it’s time”: Geoffrey Philp posts a Christmas poem.
Jamaica: Conversation with Mervyn Morris
Geoffrey Philp interviews Jamaican writer and professor Mervyn Morris.
Bermuda: Animal Farm?
A Limey in Bermuda likens the island's political situation to George Orwell's Animal Farm.
