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Between the Covers – Desire in Arab Writing: Noor Naga & Selma Dabbagh
Date/Time: Sunday 6 February 2022 16:00-17:00
Venue: Al Joud Ballroom 2, Hilton, Al Habtoor City
Language: English
Session No: 22
It is a little-known secret that Arabic literature has a long tradition of erotic writing. Behind that secret lies another – many of the writers are women. The panel brings together Selma Dabbagh, editor of the anthology We Wrote in Symbols which celebrates the work of 75 female writers of Arab heritage who articulate love and lust with artistry and skill, and Noor Naga, a poet and novelist who has explored themes of female desire and spiritual belief in her work.
The panel will celebrate the diversity of female expression in Arabic literature, discuss how the erotic and intimate has been depicted and the limits and challenges of this expression.
Selma Dabbagh’s debut novel, Out of It, was a Guardian Book of the Year. Her BBC R4 play, The Brick, was nominated for the Imison Award, and she is the editor of the anthology, We Wrote in Symbols: Love and Lust by Arab Women Writers.
Noor Naga is an award-winning poet and novelist. Raised in Dubai, she now lives in Cairo. Her novel-in-verse, Washes, Prays, was published in 2020, and her debut novel If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English is forthcoming this April from Graywolf Press.
Selma Dabbagh will now be appearing virtually.
The panel will celebrate the diversity of female expression in Arabic literature, discuss how the erotic and intimate has been depicted and the limits and challenges of this expression.
Selma Dabbagh’s debut novel, Out of It, was a Guardian Book of the Year. Her BBC R4 play, The Brick, was nominated for the Imison Award, and she is the editor of the anthology, We Wrote in Symbols: Love and Lust by Arab Women Writers.
Noor Naga is an award-winning poet and novelist. Raised in Dubai, she now lives in Cairo. Her novel-in-verse, Washes, Prays, was published in 2020, and her debut novel If an Egyptian Cannot Speak English is forthcoming this April from Graywolf Press.
Selma Dabbagh will now be appearing virtually.
