Author Description

The Summer 2022 issue of ArabLit Quarterly looks at both the light and darker sides of THE JOKE in an issue dedicated to the art of making people laugh. We have excerpts from medieval joke books, humorous classic poetry, and profiles of classic jokesters, as well as jokes all the way through history, down to those that have challenged power in Egypt and Morocco in recent decades. One essay looks at songs and humor in contemporary Egypt, while another -- by Sanaa Al Ali, translated by Leonie Rau -- asks what makes Moroccans laugh. This issue includes short stories driven by loud Iraqi roosters, phone-addicted Jordanians, Borges in the afterlife, and Egyptian AI. In "Twisted Tongues," translators share stories of how they've translated humor, and we have a short graphic novel by acclaimed Lebanese artist Mazen Kerbaj. With work by Muhammad Zafzaf, Nawal Nasrallah, Basma Alnasour, Alaa Murad, Jurji Zaydan, and more.