#catherine cobham

[virtuouslibertines69]

"Graveyards have the dignity of air, the authority of dust." - Mahmoud Darwish, tr. by Catherine Cobham, from “A River Dies of Thirst,”

Art by Caitlin Rose

[garadinervi]

Mahmoud Darwish (محمود درويش), A River Dies of Thirst. Journals, [Athar al-Farasha. Yawmiyyat], Translated from the Arabic by Catherine Cobham, Archipelago Books, Brooklyn, NY, 2009

Cover Art: 'Les hiboux et les courbeaux' from the Kalila wa Dimna, reproduced with the permission of the Bibliothèque nationale de France

[muniapolis]

The killer looks at the spectre of the dead man, not into his eyes, without regret. He says to those around him: ‘Don’t blame me. I’m afraid. I killed because I’m afraid, and I’ll kill again because I’m afraid.’ Some of those present, accustomed to favouring psychological analysis over the laws of justice, say: ‘He is defending himself.’ Others, admirers of the idea that progress is superior to morality, say: ‘Justice emanates from the generosity of power. The victim should apologise for the trauma he has caused the killer.’ Scholars of the distinction between life and reality say: ‘If this ordinary event had taken place anywhere but here, in this holy land, would we have even known the victim’s name? Let us then turn our attention to comforting the frightened man.’ When they went down the road of sympathising with the killer, some foreign tourists passing by asked them: ‘What has the child done wrong?’ They answered: ‘He will grow up and frighten the frightened man’s son.’ ‘What has the woman done wrong?’ They said: ‘She will give birth to a memory.’ ‘What has the tree done wrong?’ They said: ‘A green bird will appear from it.’ And they shouted: ‘Fear, not justice, is the basis of power.’ The spectre of the dead man appeared to them from a cloudless sky and when they opened fire on him they did not see a single drop of blood, and they were afraid.

-Darwish, Mahmoud. “The law of fear.” A River Dies of Thirst. Journals, [Athar al-Farasha. Yawmiyyat], Translated from the Arabic by Catherine Cobham, Archipelago Books, Brooklyn, NY, 2009

[whilereadingandwalking]

I have very mixed feelings on Women of Sand and Myrrh by Hanan Al-Shaykh, translated by Catherine Cobham. In this novel, four women struggle and drown in the empty lives provided to them by an unnamed desert state ruled by rigid patriarchy. Unable to truly work or lead productive lives, the women bury themselves in travel or secret pleasures, or dedicate themselves to an uphill climb within their narrow boundaries.

I was concerned to stumble on many reviews that said that this book was substantially edited in its translation into English. Most pressingly, they swapped around the order of the perspectives. This significantly changes the meaning of the story: instead of Tamr, a native who is rebelling and striving within the circumstances of the country, the first perspective presented is that of Suha, an outsider woman who is desperate to escape, feeling oppressed under the weight of her loneliness.

That said, if read with a grain of salt, there is a lot in this book that’s immensely worthwhile, preserved from the original: four messy, complex women trying to live, love, have sex, and find any freedom or independence they can within this world. Some of these women are deeply unlikable, but Al-Shaykh carefully shows us how those characteristics rise from their upbringings and circumstances. There’s a queer story here and many good stories of how female sexuality is punished even as marriage is presented as the only way forward for many young women.

So ultimately, I recommend reading this book, but doing so with a critical eye, and then following it up with “Gender, Genre, and the (Missing) Gazelle: Arab Women Writers and the Politics of Translation” by Michelle Hartman.

Content warnings for sexual harassment & assault, misogyny, homophobia, xenophobia, emotional abuse, manipulative relationship, exotification, ableism.

[garadinervi]

Mahmoud Darwish (محمود درويش), A River Dies of Thirst (Diaries), Preface by Ruth Padel, Translated by Catherine Cobham, Saqi Books, London, (2009-)2024, First published as Athar al-Farâsha by Riad El-Rayyes Books Ltd, Beirut, in 2008

[thecommonmag]

The sea had depressed Huda ever since she was a schoolgirl, bent eagerly over a drawing of a Phoenician princess walking with her prince beside the sea, while their dog played with a shell.

Make sure to check out this excerpt from author Hanan Al-Shaykh’s latest novel The Occasional Virgin, a story about two women’s journeys in finding love, revenge, and life fulfillment. 

Purchase the novel here.

[bibliomancyoracle]

How do you know the road to Damascus when you’ve never been down it?

*

from “Black Milk” by Ghayath Almadhoun (translated by Catherine Cobham)

[bibliomancyoracle]

I shan’t teach my children to fear strangers For I am one of them

*

from “Black Milk” by Ghayath Almadhoun (translated by Catherine Cobham)