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Issa J Boullata (1929–2019)
Issa J Boullata, eminent scholar, writer and critic, an educator and translator, was born in Jerusalem in 1929. He died on May 1, 2019, aged 90, peacefully, at home surrounded by his children. He was a tremendous supporter and contributing editor of Banipal for many years, advising, translating, discussing, writing his own short stories which we published, A Retired Gentleman and Other Stories.
Jssa J Boullata started his academic career with a PhD in Arabic literature from London University in 1969. He is formerly Professor of Arabic Literature at McGill University, Montreal, Canada. During his career he has authored several books, including Trends and Issues in Contemporary Arab Thought (1990) and A Window on Modernism: Studies in the Works of Jabra Ibrahim Jabra and Rocks and a Wisp of Soil (2005) in Arabic, also a novel in Arabic A’id ila al-Quds (1998), and in 2014, a memoir of his early life entitled The Bells of Memory: A Palestinian Boyhood in Jerusalem.
He introduced and translated a ground-breaking poetry anthology Modern Arab Poets, 1950-1975 (1976) and published many literary translations of contemporary Arab authors including Jabra Ibrahim Jabra’s memoirs Princesses' Street (2005) and The First Well (1995), Mohamed Berrada’s The Game of Forgetting (1986), Emily Nasrallah’s Flight Against Time (1997), and Ghada Samman’s The Square Moon (1998).
He also taught generations of students, who will mourn his passing while continuing through their practice to honour his memory. He was awarded the MESA Mentoring Award in Nov. 2004 by the Middle East Studies Association of North America in recognition of his excellent teaching and scholarly influence on generations of students.
He was a member of several professional organisations, including Radius of Arab-American Writers Inc (RAWI), and was for many years a crucial and dedicated contributing editor of Banipal.
In October 2007, Banipal Books published his collection of short stories, A Retired Gentleman and other stories.
Contributor's Issues
Banipal 27 - Autumn/Winter 2006
Banipal 34 - The World of Arab Fiction (2009)
Banipal 65 - The Beautiful Creatures of Fadhil Al-Azzawi (Summer 2019)
Banipal 36 - Literature in Yemen Today (2009)
Banipal 33 - Autumn/Winter 2008
Banipal 46 - 80 New Poems (2013)
Banipal 42 - New Writing from the Emirates (2011)
The Tent Generations
Things I Left Behind by Shada Mustafa, translated by Nancy Roberts
Shadow of the Sun by Taleb Alrefai
Birds of Nabaa, A Mauritanian Tale by Abdallah Uld Mohamadi Bah
The Stone Serpent, Barates of Palmyra’s Elegy for Regina his Beloved by Nouri Al-Jarrah
Mansi A Rare Man in His Own Way by Tayeb Saleh (Banipal Books, 2020)
Tayeb Salih
Goat Mountain by Habib Selmi
Habib Selmi, author of Goat Mountain and 3 times shortlisted for the IPAF
The Mariner by Taleb Alrefai (Banipal Books, 2020)
Taleb Alrefai, author of Shadow of the Sun and The Mariner
Digital images
Fadhil Al-Azzawi's Beautiful Creatures by Fadhil al-Azzawi (Banipal Books, 2021)
Fadhil al-Azzawi
Poems of Alexandria and New York by Ahmed Morsi (Banipal Books, 2021)
Digital Banipal promotion B67
Saïd Khatibi
Amjad Nasser (1955–2019)
Digital Banipal the full archive
Denys Johnson-Davies (1922–2017) 70 years translating Arabic literature
Ahmed Morsi, author of Poems of Alexandria and New York
Sarajevo Firewood
The Madness of Despair
Mahmoud Shukair – see special feature of Banipal 70 (Spring 2021)
LATEST NEWS
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Link to poems by Mosab Abu Toha, published in Banipal 71 (Summer 2021), available to read online
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Link to poem by Liana Badr published in Banipal 74, now available as an online selection
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GRIFFIN PRIZE SHORTLIST 2023
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Banipal's first audiobook* * *
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Banipal Book Club
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