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E D I T O R I A L As we were about to go to press, we were shocked to learn of the passing of our friend the Emirati poet Ahmad Rashid Thani. His sudden death is a major loss to Emirati literature that will be hard to replace. He was one of the pioneers of modernist poetry in the UAE and the Arab Gulf region, and a fierce supporter of Arabic free verse. The Union of Emirati Writers’ immediate tribute told how he was a founder of the Writers’ Union, a pioneer of modern poetry and playwriting in the Emirates, and always passionate about modernizing and experimentation in poetry. Shortly before Ahmad Rashid Thani died, the Arab literary world lost the hugely popular Ibrahim Aslan, the most talented writer in Egypt. A forthcoming Banipal issue will devote a special feature to his unique contribution to modern Arab fiction. I was not even born when a man called Denys JohnsonDavies was already translating Arabic literature into English. And when I was a child, going every day to school to learn to read and write, Denys Johnson-Davies Photo: Paola Crociani was visiting his friend, our great Iraqi poet Badr Shakir Al-Sayyab, and translating some of his poetry. I remember I read a letter from Al-Sayyab to his friend Jabra Ibrahim Jabra, telling him “Tomorrow morning Denys will visit me”. In another letter he tells Jabra: “I told Denys that you promised to write something for his magazine ‘Aswat’ and he is looking forward to that.” You can imagine how proud I am to be the editor of this issue of Banipal celebrating Denys Johnson-Davies and his incomparable endeavour for Arab literature, and in which I can say publicly: “Thank you, Denys.” GUEST LITERATURE – KOREA I read the novellas and poems of the Korean authors in this guest feature and feel keenly the partition of their country into two, and the suffering endured by ordinary families in the 20th century from war, colonial occupation and dictatorship. The 111-page feature starts on the pages below and is continued online at www.banipal.co.uk/selections SAMUEL SHIMON 4 BANIPAL 43 – CELEBRATING DENYS JOHNSON-DAVIES
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SAADIAH MUFARREH MY DREAMS OFTEN HUMBLE THEMSELVES TRANSLATED BY ALLISON BLECKER BANIPAL 43 – SPRING 2012 5

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E D I T O R I A L

As we were about to go to press, we were shocked to learn of the passing of our friend the Emirati poet Ahmad Rashid Thani. His sudden death is a major loss to Emirati literature that will be hard to replace. He was one of the pioneers of modernist poetry in the UAE and the Arab Gulf region, and a fierce supporter of Arabic free verse. The Union of Emirati Writers’ immediate tribute told how he was a founder of the Writers’ Union, a pioneer of modern poetry and playwriting in the Emirates, and always passionate about modernizing and experimentation in poetry.

Shortly before Ahmad Rashid Thani died, the Arab literary world lost the hugely popular Ibrahim Aslan, the most talented writer in Egypt. A forthcoming Banipal issue will devote a special feature to his unique contribution to modern Arab fiction.

I was not even born when a man called Denys JohnsonDavies was already translating Arabic literature into English. And when I was a child, going every day to school to learn to read and write, Denys Johnson-Davies

Photo: Paola Crociani was visiting his friend, our great Iraqi poet Badr Shakir Al-Sayyab, and translating some of his poetry. I remember I read a letter from Al-Sayyab to his friend Jabra Ibrahim Jabra, telling him “Tomorrow morning Denys will visit me”. In another letter he tells Jabra: “I told Denys that you promised to write something for his magazine ‘Aswat’ and he is looking forward to that.”

You can imagine how proud I am to be the editor of this issue of Banipal celebrating Denys Johnson-Davies and his incomparable endeavour for Arab literature, and in which I can say publicly: “Thank you, Denys.”

GUEST LITERATURE – KOREA I read the novellas and poems of the Korean authors in this guest feature and feel keenly the partition of their country into two, and the suffering endured by ordinary families in the 20th century from war, colonial occupation and dictatorship. The 111-page feature starts on the pages below and is continued online at www.banipal.co.uk/selections

SAMUEL SHIMON

4 BANIPAL 43 – CELEBRATING DENYS JOHNSON-DAVIES

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