Jokha Alharthi burst to sudden international literary stardom in 2019, when her second novel, Sayyidat al-Qamr (tr. Marilyn Booth as Celestial Bodies), won the International Booker. The novel, touted as the “first by an Omani woman to be translated to English,” has since appeared in languages around the world. More novels by Omani women, including Bushra Khalfan’s The Garden, are forthcoming in English translation, and Alharthi’s Narinja (also tr. Booth, as Bitter Orange Tree)will appear in May 2022. In this episode, we talk Omani literature, history, translation, and the extraordinary Bitter Orange Tree.

Show Notes

Six Languages, Six Covers: Celestial Bodies Around the World

On Turning ‘Sayyidat al-Qamr’ into ‘Celestial Bodies’ and the Tyranny of the New

New Yorker review: An Omani Novel Exposes Marriage and Its Miseries

Excerpt of Celestial Bodies on WWB: London

Excerpt of Bitter Orange Tree on Carnegie Foundation website: Al-Rahma

Interview with Jokha Alharthi

More at Alharthi’s website, jokha.com

Our episode on Sonallah Ibrahim’s novel Warda, also set in Oman.

Jokha Alharthi burst to sudden international literary stardom in 2019, when her second novel, Sayyidat al-Qamr (tr. Marilyn Booth as Celestial Bodies), won the International Booker. The novel, touted as the &ldquo;first by an Omani woman to be translated to English,&rdquo; has since appeared in languages around the world. More novels by Omani women, including Bushra Khalfan&rsquo;s The Garden, are forthcoming in English translation, and Alharthi&rsquo;s Narinja (also tr. Booth, as Bitter Orange Tree) will appear in May 2022. In this episode, we talk Omani literature, history, translation, and the extraordinary Bitter Orange Tree.
Show Notes
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CWnp5IJMTJb/">Six Languages, Six Covers: Celestial Bodies Around the World</a>
<a href="https://arablit.org/2021/07/27/marilyn-booth-on-turning-sayyidat-al-qamr-into-celestial-bodies-and-the-tyranny-of-the-new/">On Turning &lsquo;Sayyidat al-Qamr&rsquo; into &lsquo;Celestial Bodies&rsquo; and the Tyranny of the New</a>
New Yorker review: <a href="https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2019/10/14/an-omani-novel-exposes-marriage-and-its-miseries">An Omani Novel Exposes Marriage and Its Miseries</a>
Excerpt of Celestial Bodies on WWB: <a href="https://www.wordswithoutborders.org/dispatches/article/first-read-from-celestial-bodies-jokha-alharthi-marilyn-booth">London</a>
Excerpt of Bitter Orange Tree on Carnegie Foundation website: <a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/85187">Al-Rahma</a>
<a href="https://carnegieendowment.org/sada/85187">Interview with Jokha Alharthi</a>
More at Alharthi&rsquo;s website, <a href="https://jokha.com/">jokha.com</a>
<a href="https://listen.sowt.com/Bulaq73">Our episode</a> on Sonallah Ibrahim&rsquo;s novel Warda, also set in Oman.

BULAQ is a book-centric podcast co-hosted by Ursula Lindsey (in Amman, Jordan) and M Lynx Qualey (in Rabat, Morocco). It focuses on Arabic literature in translation and is named after the first printing press established in Egypt in 1820. Produced by Sowt.

BULAQ is a book-centric podcast co-hosted by Ursula Lindsey (in Amman, Jordan) and M Lynx Qualey (in Rabat, Morocco). It focuses on Arabic literature in translation and is named after the first printing press established in Egypt in 1820. Produced by Sowt.

BULAQ | بولاق

BULAQ is a podcast about contemporary writing from and about the Middle East and North Africa. We talk about books written in Aleppo, Cairo, Marrakech and beyond. We look at the Arab region through the lens of literature, and we look at literature -- what it does, why it matters, how it relates to society and history and politics -- from the point of view of this part of the world.  BULAQ is co-produced by ArabLit and The Arabist and is hosted by Ursula Lindsey and M Lynx Qualey.

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