MER Article

‘The Scent of Human Barbecue!’—A Poem by Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi

Born and raised in Omdurman Khartoum, Al Saddiq Al-Raddi is one of the leading African poets writing in Arabic today. Al-Raddi served as the cultural editor of Al-Sudani newspaper from 2006 until 2012, when he was stripped of his position during an uprising against Omar Al-Bashir due to his principled

Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi, Bryar Bajalan, Shook • 3 min read

Current Analysis

Orhan Veli's Poetry and the Struggle to Preserve Istanbul's Green Spaces

On the Republic's one hundred year anniversary, how does the poet's work speak to the Istanbul's urban transformation?

Niels Lee • 13 min read

Current Analysis

An Anthem from the Iranian Protests

On September 27, 2022, Iranian musician Shervin Hajipour posted a song to his instagram compiled of tweets from Iranians detailing the reasons they are protesting. The song quickly went viral across social media. Within days of the video’s release, Shervin Hajipour had been arrested, and the origina

Zuzanna Olszewska • 3 min read

MER Article

The Enduring Taste of Hope—A Poem and Interview with Khaled Mattawa

Soon after Libyans rose up in protest against the brutal authoritarian regime of Muammar al-Qaddafi in February 2011, the Libyan American poet Khaled Mattawa wrote “Now That We Have Tasted Hope.” His poem powerfully captured the mix of relief and anguish, despair and hope felt by many who participat

Khaled Mattawa, Atef Said • 12 min read

Current Analysis

The Enduring Taste of Hope—A Poem and Interview with Khaled Mattawa

Soon after Libyans rose up in protest against the brutal authoritarian regime of Muammar al-Qaddafi in February 2011, the Libyan American poet Khaled Mattawa wrote "Now That We Have Tasted Hope." His poem powerfully captured the mix of relief and anguish, despair and hope felt by many who participat

Khaled Mattawa, Atef Said • 12 min read

MER Article

It Was Beirut, All Over Again…Again

One night in August 2021, I fell through a portal. It was hot, and there was no electricity. I had already missed the de facto bedtime of 1am set by our generator’s regimen. My portable fluorescent lantern was fully charged. The stale, heavy air of a cooled-down, closed room

Maya Mikdashi • 8 min read

MER Article

Culture and Politics, Culture as Politics

Although MERIP is best known for political economy critiques of systems of resource extraction, imperialism and authoritarianism, artwork, creative texts and cultural reviews have never been merely supplemental to its project. Elevating cultural expression and aesthetic performance from the Middle East and North Africa can be an act of political

Ted Swedenburg, Paul Silverstein • 7 min read

Current Analysis

Three Poems by Osama Esber

The Syrian poet Osama Esber presents three new poems that grapple with the reverberations of living through the current global pandemic. Written in Arabic, they are accompanied by Lisa Wedeen's English translation and introduction.

Osama Esber, Lisa Wedeen • 3 min read

Reading César Vallejo in Arabic

The Poets The posthumous poetry collection of the Iraqi poet Sargon Boulus (1944–2007), ‘Azma Ukhra li-Kalb al-Qabila (Another Bone for the Tribe’s Dog), published in 2008 shortly after his death in Berlin, is populated with ghosts. [1] There are ghosts of anonymous humans who perished in recent wars,

Sinan Antoon • 9 min read

MER Article

Revolution in Socotra

At the beginning of 2012, as Egyptians and Syrians marked the second year of their revolts, protesters also took to the streets of Hadiboh, the tumbledown capital of Yemen’s Socotra archipelago (pop. approx. 50,000). Like demonstrators elsewhere, the Socotrans were calling for both local administrat

Nathalie Peutz • 18 min read

MER Article

The People Want

Many of the slogans of the Egyptian revolution have been poetry, and as compositions with rhyme, meter and purpose, they resonate with very old conceptions of lyrical form. But slogans are not literary texts whose meanings can be reduced to a purely semantic level. Most often, they are part of a per

Elliott Colla • 17 min read

Current Analysis

An Artist as President of the Islamic Republic of Iran?

Something’s happening here. In one of the largest street demonstrations in Tehran since the 1979 revolution, thousands filled Vali Asr Street (formerly known as Pahlavi Street) on Monday, forming a human chain nearly 12 miles long and stopping traffic for nearly five hours. They wore strips of green

Shiva Balaghi • 7 min read