Wasafiri 122: The UAE Issue
Our summer special issue, guest co-edited by Laure Assaf and Deepak Unnikrishnan, explores the United Arab Emirates’ literary and creative scene — away from monolithic representations of the region. Its contributors are makers – of books, arts, texts, and community – with ties to the United Arab Emirates and/or the Gulf. They are brought into conversation across generations and disciplines, reflecting on what this place is for them, and what it does to them. They talk about risk, memory-making, taxis, and televised dreams — pushing the lines, or treading them carefully.
Editorial Skin in the Game
Lead Feature New, Old, and Imagined Homes
Articles Unearthing Heritage: Skill and Expertise in the Making of the UAE's Archaeological Pasts; Callejerx in the Gulf: Dériving Language Landscapes in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah
Interviews Khaled Esguerra, Juan Gonzales, & Carlos Páez González; Sreerag Jyothish & Murtaza Vali; Ahmad Makia, Zoe Patterson & Vamika Sinha
Art Inlays, Overlays by Manuel Benchetrit
Fiction Ziad Abdullah, trans. maia tabet, Camille Ammoun, trans. Sarah Lloyd, Bhoomika Ghaghada, Husam Hilali, trans. Anonymous
Poetry Amna Abdalla Alharmoodi, Shayma Al Harthi, Nada Almosa, Aathma Nirmala Dious, Mona Kareem, trans. Sara Elkamel, Jill Magi, Augustine Paredes
Life Writing Mohamed Shafeeq Karinkurayil, Zoe Patterson
Review Essay Towards an Anglophone Poetry Canon in the Emirates
Reviews Everyday Life in the Spectacular City, Rana AlMutawa; The Gulf Migrant Archives in Kerala, Mohammed Shafeeq Karinkurayil; The Guardian of Surfaces, Bothayna Al-Essa, trans. Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain
... and much more.
Contents
Editorial
Skin in the Game
Laure Assaf and Deepak Unnikrishnan
Lead Feature
New, Old, and Imagined Homes
Nadeen Dakkak
Articles
Unearthing Heritage: Skill and Expertise in the Making of the UAE's Archaeological Pasts
Noora Jabir
Callejerx in the Gulf: Dériving Language Landscapes in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Sharjah
Saqer A. Almarri
Life Writing
Watching the Wall from Bada Zayed
Mohamed Shafeeq Karinkurayil
Tawasul
Zoe Patterson
Interviews
‘The Least I Can Do is Listen’: In Conversation with Three Community-Makers
Khaled Esguerra, Juan Gonzales, and Carlos Páez González
‘Abandon This Idea of Longevity’: In Conversation with Three Bookmakers
Ahmad Makia, Zoe Patterson, and Vamika Sinha
‘Things Here Still Need the Brew-Time’: An Artist and Curator in Conversation
Sreerag Jyothish and Murtaza Vali
Art
Inlays, Overlays
Manuel Benchetrit
Fiction
Bur Dubai
Ziad Abullah. Translated from the Arabic by maia tabet
Night Shisha
Husam Hilali. Translated from the Arabic by Anonymous
Escape to Edinburgh
Bhoomika Ghaghada
Ougarit
Camille Ammoun. Translated from the French by Sarah Lloyd
Poetry
Television Dreams
Nada Almosa
I Meet Umm Kulthum in a Dream
Shayma Al Harthi
‘The network has a sturdy back.’
Jill Magi
Lulu Supermarket Aisle 12 – Cornflakes; Guide to Madinat Zayed
Aathma Nirmala Dious
The Love Motel
Augustine Paredes
Small Eternities; The Poem of Her Life
Mona Kareem. Translated from the Arabic by Sara Elkamel
Grief Rituals: A Self-Help Guide on Mourning and Loss
Amna Abdalla Alharmoodi
Review Essay
Towards an Anglophone Poetry Canon in the Emirates
The Girl of the Arabs - Ousha Bint Khalifa Al Swaidi. Translated by Nadia A Kawandanah
Of Palm Trees and Skies - Afra Atiq
The F Word - Danabelle Gutierrez
Tamreez Inam
Reviews
Everyday Life in the Spectacular City: Making Home in Dubai - Rana AlMutawa
Teresa Cherukara
Shape of an Apostrophe - Uttama Kirit Patel
Tayyba Kanwal
Hot Cross Buns: A Memoir - Anthony J Permal
Omair Danish
Rose's Diaries - Reem Al Kamali. Translated by Chip Rossetti
Jumana Al Ghassab
The Gulf Migrant Archives in Kerala: Reading Borders and Belonging - Mohamed Shafeeq Karinkurayil
Deepa Bhasthi
Mudun: Short Stories from the Arab World - Sultan Sooud Al-Qassemi, Razmig Bedirian, Faris Bseiso, and Reem Khorshid, eds.
Gemini Wahhaj
The Guardian of Surfaces - Bothayna Al-Essa. Translated by Ranya Abdelrahman and Sawad Hussain
Raniya Hosain
Making Space for the Gulf: Histories of Regionalism and the Middle East - Arang Keshavarzian
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