The Qassim Haddad Translation Project
FAIN: RQ-50447-10
American University in Cairo (New York, NY 10018-2729)
John S. Verlenden (Project Director: November 2009 to June 2013)
A translation and edition of the selected verse of contemporary Arabic poet Qassim Haddad. (18 months)
The project director, a writer, and Ferial Ghazoul, a scholar, will translate a selection of Arabic texts from Bahraini poet Qassim Haddad (b1948).The texts are principally poetry but include a prose excerpt from the poet's unconventional "autobiography." In bringing to scholars of Arab literature/culture the first comprehensive volume of the Gulf-Arab region's major poet, this translation will situate the poet within the dynamic cultural transformations occurring throughout that region and within Bahrain specifically. The translators will provide a general introduction; a more scholarly critical afterword on Haddad's poetics; and full annotations. In bringing a major voice from contemporary Arab literature to English readers-at a time when the poet has received the most prestigious prizes accorded to Arab writers-this translation will open Haddad's work to an international audience, to comparative literature scholars, and to cultural analysts of the Gulf artistic milieu.
Media Coverage
Chronicles of Majnun Layla & Selected Poems, review (Review)
Author(s): Various authors
Publication: Goodreads
Date: 2/15/2015
Abstract: Positive book review for the book of same title.
URL: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23120191-chronicles-of-majnun-layla-and-selected-poems
Chronicles of Majnun Layla & Selected Poems: a Different Kind of Crazy (Review)
Author(s): MLYNXQUALEY
Publication: Arabic Literature (in English)
Date: 11/4/2014
Abstract: Positive review in one of the best-known clearinghouses for Arabic literature translated into English.
URL: https://arablit.org/2014/11/04/chronicles-of-majnun-layla-selected-poems/
Chronicles of Majnun Layla & Selected Poems, review (Media Coverage)
Author(s): World Literature Today (staff member)
Publication: The Free Library
Date: 9/1/2015
Abstract: Brief review/notice of the book by one of the best-known American journals featuring world literature. Published by The Free Library.
URL: http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Qassim+Haddad%3a+Chronicles+of+Majnun+Layla+and+Selected+Poems.-a0426980483
Chronicles of Majnun Layla and Selected Poems by Qassim Haddad, translated from the Arabic by Ferial Ghazoul and John Verlenden (Review)
Author(s): Marcia Lynx Qualey
Publication: Asian Review of Books
Date: 11/2/2014
Abstract: Either the same or slightly longer article/review that appeared in Arablit (noted already in Coverage of the book).
URL: http://www.asianreviewofbooks.com/pages/?ID=2061
Meet the author: Ferial Ghazoul (Media Coverage)
Publication: The AUC Press eNewsletter
Date: 7/1/2016
Abstract: Interview with Dr. Ghazoul in which she expounds upon the art of translation.
URL: http://www.aucpress.com/t-eNewsletter-MeetTheAuthor-November2013.aspx?template=template_enewsletter
Chronicles of Majnun Layla and Selected Poems by Qassim Haddad, translated from the Arabic by Ferial Ghazoul and John Verlenden (Media Coverage)
Author(s): n/a
Publication: Project Muse
Date: 8/29/2016
Abstract: PDF downloads of the book, either in whole or in sections, following an abstract description of the book's contents.
URL: https://muse.jhu.edu/book/35260
Chronicles of Majnun Layla and Selected Poems by Qassim Haddad, translated from the Arabic by Ferial Ghazoul and John Verlenden (Media Coverage)
Author(s): n/a
Publication: News and Happenings/The King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies Newsletter
Date: 10/1/2014
Abstract: Notification of our book having won the Arabic translation prize awarded by the King Fahd Center, sometimes known as the Arkansas Prize because of the center's location within the University of Arkansas's main campus. See page 23 of 24.
URL: http://cavern.uark.edu/rd_arsc/mest/News_and_Happenings_-_Oct_2014.pdf
A Conversation with a Literary Translation Team (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Soraya Morayef
Publication: Al Fanar Media
Date: 11/11/2014
Abstract: Selections from an email interview conducted separately with Ferial Ghazoul and John Verlenden by journalist Soraya Morayef.
URL: http://www.al-fanarmedia.org/2014/11/conversation-literary-translation-team/
Notes from a Self-translator and Other Translation Talks in Cairo This Spring (Media Coverage)
Author(s): Marcia Lynx Qualey
Publication: Arablit
Date: 2/14/2016
Abstract: Description of an event featuring Dr. Ferial Ghazoul in person and John Verlenden via recordings made in the U.S. concerning the art of translation with a particular focus on Chronicles of Majnun Layla and Selected Poetry by Qassim Haddad.
URL: https://arablit.org/2016/02/13/notes-from-a-self-translator-and-other-translation-talks-in-cairo-this-spring/
Faculty Awarded for Poetry Translation, Breaking Cultural Barriers (Media Coverage)
Author(s): staff-written
Publication: News@AUC
Date: 1/14/2016
Abstract: Covers all breaking news for the campus community of American University in Cairo. The article concerns the second award won by the translation team: the Sheikh Hamad Third Place Prize generated in Qatar.
URL: http://www.aucegypt.edu/news/stories/faculty-awarded-poetry-translation-breaking-cultural-barriers
Untitled biographies of John Verlenden and Ferial Ghazoul (Media Coverage)
Author(s): n/a
Publication: Revolvy
Date: 1/1/2016
Abstract: Bios generated in trend-noting blog that covers many areas including literature/translation; arising from the cumulative prizes won by the Ghazoul/Verlenden translation team.
URL: http://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=John%20Verlenden&uid=1575
Associated Products
Majnun Layla by Qassim Haddad (Article)Title: Majnun Layla by Qassim Haddad
Author: Ferial Ghazoul
Author: John Verlenden
Abstract: The article contains an introduction to the work of the contemporary Bahraini poet Qassim Haddad, and a translation of his poem Majnun Layla, retelling a classical Arab tale of unfulfilled love. As the authors write about Haddad, "Given his own trajectory from traditional roots to global horizons, it is not surprising to find the urge to integrate the ancient with the contemporary, and the desire to undertake new interpretation of past legends...particularly evident in his rendering of the story of Majnun Layla in a collection published in 1996. He revived this classical work of Arab love while liberating it from its puritanical dimension."
Year: 2012
Primary URL:
http://www.alkalimah.net/en/article.aspx?aid=19Primary URL Description: An article on the website of the journal Al Kalimah (The Word)
Access Model: Open access
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: The Word (Al Kalimah)
Publisher: Al Kalimah
Prizes
University of Arkansas Arabic Translation Award
Date: 10/10/2013
Organization: King Fahd Center for Middle east Studies at the University of Arkansas
Abstract: The University of Arkansas Arabic Translation Award is given for a notable English translation of a booklength literary work originally written in the Arabic language, administered by the King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies. The prize-winning book is published by the Syracuse University Press as part of their Middle East Literature
in Translation series. The King Fahd Center also awards an annual prize up to $10,000, for the best book-length translation of Arabic literature from any of the following genres: poetry, novel, short story collection, drama, or literary non-fiction
such as autobiography or memoir. Submitted translations must be previously unpublished in book form. All translation rights must be cleared for publication. The original author (if still holding rights to the work) will receive, in lieu of royalties, $5,000 and the translator (or translators) will receive a total of $5,000. Independent judges select the award winning translation.
Selected Poems of Qassim Haddad (Article)Title: Selected Poems of Qassim Haddad
Author: Ferial Ghazoul
Author: John Verlenden
Abstract: Ferial Ghazoul and John Verlenden translate selected poems by the leading Bahraini poet who captures the drastic transformations of Bahrain, and the radical changes in the region in the last fifty years or so, poems that record the aspiration of the individual and the pains of the transition from traditional life to modern times.
Year: 2012
Primary URL:
http://www.alkalimah.net/en/article.aspx?aid=20&sw=Primary URL Description: Article in the online journal Al Kalimah
Access Model: Open access
Format: Journal
Periodical Title: Al Alimah
Publisher: Al Alimah
Chronicles of Majnun Layla & Selected Poems by Qassim Haddad (Book)Title: Chronicles of Majnun Layla & Selected Poems by Qassim Haddad
Author: Qassim Haddad
Editor: Ferial Ghazoul
Editor: John Verlenden
Abstract: This book was the Winner of the King Fahd Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies Translation of Arabic Literature Award 2013, which is housed at University of Arkansas. Syracuse UP took over the publication of the series' winners. As its title says, the main contents is a post-modern reworking of the Majnun and Layla poem/myth. Additional poems from throughout Qassim Haddad's oeuvre complete the book, which is the major work on Qassim Haddad's poetry in English. Qassim Haddad is Bahrain's most notable contemporary poet. He has been writing for half a century.
Year: 2014
Primary URL:
http://www.worldcat.org/title/chronicles-of-majnun-layla-and-selected-poems/oclc/943267550&referer=brief_resultsPrimary URL Description: WorldCat listing
Secondary URL:
http://www.syracuseuniversitypress.syr.edu/fall-2014/chronicles-majnum-layla.htmlSecondary URL Description: Publisher's listing
Access Model: This book is not open access. It can be purchased via Syracuse UP or Amazon, among other book sellers. The open access version appears at Al Khalimah website handled separately in this call for information.
Publisher: Syracuse University Press
Type: Translation
ISBN: 9780815610373
Translator: John Verlenden
Translator: Ferial Ghazoul
Copy sent to NEH?: Yes
Prizes
Third prize winner of Qatar’s Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding
Date: 12/1/2015
Organization: Sheik Hamad Awards for Translation and International Understanding
Abstract: The Sheikh Hamad Award for Translation and International Understanding was founded in Doha, Qatar (2015) to award $1000 to the winner. It is an international prize run by an independent board of trustees, impartial panels of judges, and a professional steering committee. The purpose is to inculcate a culture of knowledge and dialogue, develop international understanding, and promote mature intellectual interaction and exchange between Arabic and other world languages through the medium of translation. The prize rewards merit and excellence, encourages creativity, honors translators and acknowledges their role in strengthening the bonds of friendship and cooperation amongst peoples and nations of the world, spreading the values of diversity, pluralism and openness, and upholding the highest moral and ethical standards. Nominations are limited to the fields of the humanities and social sciences in 2015.
Translation Award
Date: 9/1/2013
Organization: King Fahd Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies
Abstract: The King Fahd Center awards an annual prize up to $10,000 for the best book-length translation of Arabic literature from any of the following genres: poetry, novel, short story collection, drama, or literary non-fiction such as autobiography or memoir. Submitted translations must be previously unpublished in book form. All translation rights must be cleared for publication.
For this award the original author (if still holding rights to the work) will receive, in lieu of royalties, $5,000 and the translator (or translators) will receive a total of $5,000. Independent judges select the award winning translation, which will be published by Syracuse University Press as part of its prestigious Middle East Literature in Translation series.