Shows / BULAQ | بولاق
BULAQ | بولاق
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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
BULAQ | بولاقOut of Egypt
Ursula & MLQ open the new season of BULAQ -- recorded in Amman, under the auspices of the Sowt network -- with a focus on Egypt. This episode's reading is from…
BULAQ | بولاقTrash Talk
In our last episode before half our team moves and we take a summer break, we discuss a brilliant essay on the downsides of being a professional translator…
BULAQ | بولاقInvisibility
We have novelist Ruqaya Izziddien as our guest in this episode, to discuss her debut novel The Watermelon Boys, her blog Muslim Impossible and the need for…
BULAQ | بولاقOur Women on the Ground
We spend most of today’s episode talking about a forthcoming collection of essays by female journalists from the region. Guilt, anger, recklessness…
BULAQ | بولاقWork-lit Balance
This week we talk about how MLQ’s latest passion project, the Arab Lit Quarterly, and the ups and downs of making a living (sort of) writing about books…
BULAQ | بولاقThis Takes the Prize
MLQ is back from Abu Dhabi, and we talk about the recently awarded International Prize for Arabic Fiction — and an unfortunate controversy this year, involving…
BULAQ | بولاقThe case of Alaa al-Aswany
We talk about the career of the best-selling Egyptian novelist Alaa al-Aswany – who like many other artists is on the outs with the country’s military regime…
BULAQ | بولاقNot Quite On The Same Page
In this episode we rave about an Omani novel – a multi-generational saga that is “anti-romantic and anti-nationalistic.” We also discuss a dark family road…
BULAQ | بولاقSentenced to Hope
We spend most of this episode discussing the work and life of the Syrian playwright Sa’dallah Wannous, and how strongly it relates to repression, resistance…
BULAQ | بولاقWhere Do I Start?
What should you recommend to someone who is interested in exploring Arabic literature? We tackle this big question this week; we also talk about the authors…
BULAQ | بولاقBad Parents
We're back! And ready to talk about two poets who have moved into prose: the Egyptian Iman Mersal and the Palestinian Mazen Maarouf, who have written books…
BULAQ | بولاقLists!
Ursula and MLQ look back at notable books from 2018 and at reads they are looking forward to catching up on over the holiday break. Show notes ‘Tis the season…
BULAQ | بولاقWriting To Remember
This episode is almost entirely dedicated to the work of the Moroccan film-maker, novelist, artist, and poet Ahmed Bouanani – much of which has yet to be…
BULAQ | بولاقPoems That Cross Language and Time
We overcame communication blocks and interrupting children to speak to the poet Zeina Hashem Beck about how she’s given herself permission to write poems that…
BULAQ | بولاقReturns And Beginnings
In this episode we talk about recent developments in Cairo, kids’ literature in Arabic, Naguib Mahfouz, and the launch of Marcia’s new project, the literary…
BULAQ | بولاقInterview with Ganzeer
This week we talk to an old Cairo friend, acclaimed Egyptian artist Ganzeer, about art, propaganda, publishing and how much damn work it is to put out a…
BULAQ | بولاقStolen in Translation
We talk about looking down on dialect; passing literary theft off as “salvation”; the beginning of awards season; a book that is a fragmented portrait of…
BULAQ | بولاقBack To School
We talk about the relationships between education and literature; about a devastating entry in the prison memoir genre, from Syria; about the legacy of V.S…
BULAQ | بولاقIs It a Beach Book?
In our last episode before a summer hiatus, we discuss a graphic novel about the life and art of the stars of Arab music and cinema; Egyptian writer Radwa…
BULAQ | بولاق"Neo-Assyrian Trolls"
We talk to humorist Karl Sharro about the origins story of his Twitter alter-ego Karl ReMarks and about finding the ideal online nemesis. Marcia takes issue…
BULAQ | بولاقPick Your Team
In which Ursula and Marcia discuss how much innocence American can claim when abroad, and the urge to write expatriate diaries in one’s twenties; they also…
BULAQ | بولاقAlexandria When?
Inspired by a fiery essay by an Egyptian professor, Ursula and MLQ discuss cosmopolitanism, nostalgia, and literary representations of the city of Alexandria…
BULAQ | بولاقLess Cute and Safe
We discuss Marcia’s recent interviews with professors teaching Arabic literature in translation; an essay by Lebanese novelist Rabih Alameddine’s in which he…
BULAQ | بولاقCancel Everything
Ursula and Marcia talk about the novel Tales of Yusuf Tadros – about a Coptic Christian and aspiring artist living in the provinces -- and the playful…
BULAQ | بولاقAll Over The Map
In this episode, we talk about debates surrounding Western military intervention in Syria; about Arab American writer Randa Jarrar and her Twitter rant against…
BULAQ | بولاقStillborn in Egypt, Fractured in Palestine
We spend most of this episode talking about two books: the late Arwa Salih’s Stillborn, a memoir of and reckoning with her time as a leftist student militant…
BULAQ | بولاقNoir Is The New Black
In which Marcia talks about her difficulties being interviewed; we discuss genre (sci-fi, fantasy, and especially noir) writing in Arabic; and we question…
BULAQ | بولاقOn Good Bad Reviews
In which we discuss the validity and necessity of the negative review (or what we like to simply call critical engagement); how rare it is to find negative…
BULAQ | بولاقEscape Acts
Ursula and MLQ discuss a moving new book documenting the suffering and the resourcefulness of Yazidi women taken captive by Daesh, and the efforts to help them…
BULAQ | بولاقSoft Power
We discussed our recent readings. This includes some early foreign reporting on Morocco, which is both vivid and prejudiced; a moving account of the way…
BULAQ | بولاقCourt Jesters and Black Mirrors
In this episode we discuss Moroccan literature about the country’s “years of lead” and its formidable and ruthless former king Hassan II; and about the…
BULAQ | بولاقSacred Cows
In this episode of BULAQ we highlight several new and forthcoming translations from Arabic to English. We also discuss the newly translated Concerto Al Quds by…
BULAQ | بولاقNo Happy Endings
In this episode, we look back at 2017 about talk books published in the past year: notable books, favorite books, books we felt were overlooked, books we don't…
BULAQ | بولاقPalestinian literature: regrets, tough choices and teen adventures
President Trump just recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel – a move that acknowledges only a single Israeli narrative. We discuss Palestinian writers…
BULAQ | بولاقKnow Your Audience
In which we discuss the fictional underworlds of Rabee Jaber and other Lebanese novelists; and explore Saudi poetry, from a new translation of a famous…
BULAQ | بولاقBelonging to Oneself
In the midst of a crackdown on gay men in Egypt, we discuss Mohammed Abdel Nabi’s novel about being gay in Cairo, In The Spider’s Room. Also: a portrait of a…