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TIFA’s World in Other Words event series is back. Changing language or regional focus every few years, this is the second Festival spotlighting Arabic writers.

Enjoy this fascinating conversation on two stylistically experimental novels that touch on themes of identity, memory and cultural collision. Sinan Antoon’s The Book of Collateral Damage, translated from Arabic by Jonathan Wright, offers a poignant examination of the wreckage of war and the power of memory. This novel follows Nameer, an Iraqi scholar documenting the aftermath of the 2003 invasion, as he navigates the remnants of his homeland’s past. The novel intertwines personal trauma with historical reflection, and offers a powerful commentary on memory, loss, and the quest to reclaim a nation’s shattered history. Noor Naga‘s debut novel, If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English, delves into the complexities of love and identity against the backdrop of post-Arab Spring Egypt. Through the dark romance of an Egyptian American woman and a disillusioned revolutionary photographer, their relationship unveils the intricacies of American identity politics and global perceptions, challenging readers with a dark and tender exploration of love and cultural fetishization.

Moderator: Samia Badih

The Book of Collateral Damage

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If An Egyptian Cannot Speak English

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Sinan Antoon

Sinan Antoon is an Iraqi poet, novelist, translator and scholar. He has published five novels and two collections of poetry, the most recent is Postcards from the Underworld (Seagull Books, 2023).

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Noor Naga

Noor Naga is an Alexandrian writer currently based between Cairo and Toronto. Her verse-novel Washes, Prays (2020) won the Pat Lowther Memorial Award and the Arab American Book Award.

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