Secrets Stroll the City’s Streets - A Short Story by Ahmed Jaber - Translated by Adam Talib - 2021 - Included in The Book of Ramallah- A City in Short Fiction- edited and introduced by Maya Abu Al-Hayat

 

The City of Ramallah, population about 70,000, is located in the West Bank area of Palestine, has become a focal point of world wide media attention. This Anthology was published prior to the initiation of the current conflict. In the very informative elegant introduction Maya Abu Al-Hayat tells us the literary history of the city going back to the 16th century up to 2021. She has selected a quite diverse range of stories but each one is informed by the occupation of the city.

Looking back through history, references to Ramallah can be found in records as old as Crusader artefacts. Archaeological evidence suggests there was a village here at least as early as the 16th century, under Ottoman rule, and that it began to thrive towards the end of that era, with the first town council recorded convening in 1908. The name ‘Ramallah’ can be traced back to at least 1186 and is formed from the conjunction of the words raam, meaning hill, and Allah, meaning God.

In Mahmoud Shukeir’s story the protagonist tries to convince himself that he is a man of the city now and that he can do anything that the city’s residents do. Set in the 1960s, when Ramallah was under Jordanian rule but with Israel’s expansionist war drums beating over the horizon, it portrays secret political parties and movements and the first acts of resistance heralded by revolutionary communiqués and protests: a time when identity transcended all. 

Mahmoud Shukair was born in Jerusalem in 1941 and is one of the best-known short story writers in the Arab world, and his stories have been translated into numerous languages. His 45 books include nine short story collections and 13 books for children. He has also written extensively for television, theatre, and print and online media. In 2011, he was awarded the Mahmoud Darwish Prize for Freedom of Expression. His 2016 novel Praise for the Women of the Family was nominated for the IPAF. He has previously been the editor-in-chief of the weekly Jerusalem newspaper Al-Taliah.

A Tragic Ending - A Short Story by Mahmoud Shukair - Translated by Thoraya El-Rayyes - 2021 - Included in The Book of Ramallah- A City in Short Fiction- edited and introduced by Maya Abu Al-Hayat

 A Tragic Ending - A Short Story by Mahmoud Shukair - Translated by Thoraya El-Rayyes - 2021 - Included in The Book of Ramallah- A City in Short Fiction- edited and introduced by Maya Abu Al-Hayat 

Today's story is the third to be featured from The Book of Ramallah- A City in Short Fiction- edited and introduced by Maya Abu Al-Hayat.

The City of Ramallah, population about 70,000

 is located in the West Bank area of Palestine. Ramallah has become a focal point of world wide media  This Anthology was published prior to the initiation of the current conflict. In the very informative elegant introduction Maya Abu Al-Hayat tells us the literary history of the city going back to the 16th century up to 2021. She has selected a quite diverse range of stories but each one is informed by the occupation of the city.

"Looking back through history, references to Ramallah can be found in records as old as Crusader artefacts. Archaeological evidence suggests there was a village here at least as early as the 16th century, under Ottoman rule, and that it began to thrive towards the end of that era, with the first town council recorded convening in 1908. The name ‘Ramallah’ can be traced back to at least 1186 and is formed from the conjunction of the words raam, meaning hill, and Allah, meaning God. Thus the importance of ‘God’s hill’ might always have been its geography being perched on a hilltop ridge, with cool updrafts, and spectacular views in all directions. " From the introduction 

One thing that has happened for 1000s of years is young men armed against much weaker opposition often turn into petty tyrants and sadists. This is magnified when those in authority dehumanise the enemy.

In Mahmoud Shukeir’s story the protagonist tries to convince himself that he is a man of the city now and that he can do anything that the city’s residents do. Set in the 1960s, before the occupation of the West Bank, when Ramallah was under Jordanian rule but with Israel’s expansionist war drums beating over the horizon, it portrays secret political parties and movements and the first acts of resistance heralded by revolutionary communiqués and protests: a time when identity transcended all.

Mahmoud Shukair was born in Jerusalem in 1941 and is one of the best-known short story writers in the Arab world, and his stories have been translated into numerous languages. His 45 books include nine short story collections and 13 books for children. He has also written extensively for television, theatre, and print and online media. In 2011, he was awarded the Mahmoud Darwish Prize for Freedom of Expression. His 2016 novel Praise for the Women of the Family was nominated for the IPAF. He has previously been the editor-in-chief of the weekly Jerusalem newspaper Al-Taliah.

Die Augen der Mumie Ma (English: The Eyes of the Mummy or The Eyes of the Mummy Ma) is a 1918 German silent film directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The film stars Pola Negri as Ma, Emil Jannings as Radu, and Harry Liedtke as Wendland

 Available on YouTube 

Die Augen der Mumie Ma (English: The Eyes of the Mummy or The Eyes of the Mummy Ma) is a 1918 German silent film directed by Ernst Lubitsch. The film stars Pola Negri as Ma, Emil Jannings as Radu, and Harry Liedtke as Wendland

Run Time 58 Minutes 

Ernst Lubitsch 

Born: January 29, 1892, Berlin, Germany - produces 65 silent films before moving to America

1922 Moves to Hollywood- Warner Pictures Signed him to a three year six picture contract

Died: November 30, 1947, Los Angeles, California, United States

Lubitsch directed two of my favourite movies, Ninotchka and To Be or Not to Be.

I am currently reading a very informative biography,  Ernst Lubitsch : Laughter in Paradise by Scott Eyman 

Here is his assessment of today's movie:

"The Eyes of the Mummy Ma is Lubitsch’s stab at the Far Eastern exotica that would pay rich dividends for Fritz Lang and Joe May, but it lacks their hysterical panache; Ernst plays the silly plot for romance rather than thrills. There are some good touches—a lantern that careens wildly during a fight, fitfully illuminating the struggle; a subtle tracking shot as Emil Jannings exerts his hypnotic power over Pola Negri—but there are just as many odd absurdities: Negri awkwardly struggling to haul herself on to a horse, Harry Liedtke struggling to lift Negri and almost failing. Ernst’s staging and blocking lack the fluidity of the comedies that had been animated by his own vigorous sense of humor or the presence of Ossi Oswalda."

The film is about a young painter named Wendland (Liedtke) who travels to Egypt, where he is haunted by the ghost of a beautiful Egyptian princess named Ma (Negri). 

The film is a visually stunning and atmospheric work that is considered to be one of Lubitsch's best films. It is also one of the earliest and most influential horror films. The film's use of lighting, shadow, and camera angles is masterful, and the performances are all excellent. Negri is particularly good as Ma, and she is able to convey both the character's beauty and her sadness.

The film was a critical and commercial success upon its release. It was praised for its originality, its style, and its performances. The film has also been praised for its feminist themes. Ma is a strong and independent woman who is not afraid to stand up for herself. She is also a victim of male violence, and the film can be seen as a critique of patriarchal society.

Films by German directors are an important part of post World War One German Culture, from the groundbreaking silent classics of the Weimar Republic to the movies of Leni Reisenthal in celebration of Nazi rule, beloved by Goebels, to modern Oscar winners, I am pleased to see German Literature Month XIII now welcomes posts on Films by German Directors

This is a post for German Literature Month XIII 2023 November 1 to December 7

German Literature Month is hosted by Lizzy’s Literary Life

https://lizzysiddal2.wordpress.com/2023/09/22/announcing-german-literature-month-xiii/

 

Love in Ramallah A Short Story by Ibrahim Nasrallah - Translated by Mohammed Ghalaieny from Arabic- 2021 - Included in The Book of Ramallah- A City in Short Fiction- edited and introduced by Maya Abu Al-Hayat

 Love in Ramallah A Short Story by Ibrahim Nasrallah - Translated by Mohammed Ghalaieny from Arabic- 2021 - Included in The Book of Ramallah- A City in Short Fiction- edited and introduced by Maya Abu Al-Hayat 

Love in Ramallah is the second story from The Book of Ramallah- A City in Short Fiction upon which I have posted,

The City of Ramallah, population about 70,000, is located in the West Bank area of Palestine, has become a focal point of world wide media.  Isreal does not have legal control but it domination of the city is manifested by actions.This Anthology was published prior to the initiation of the current conflict. In the very informative elegant introduction Maya Abu Al-Hayat tells us the literary history of the city going back to the 16th century up to 2021. She has selected a quite diverse range of stories but each one is informed by the occupation of the city.

One thing that has happened for 1000s of years is young men armed against much weaker opposition often turn into petty tyrants and sadists. This is magnified when those in authority dehumanise the enemy.  

In today's story, "Love in Ramallah" we see young Isreali soldiers at a check point bus stop subjecting a Palestinian man and woman passenger to humiliation just for the fun of it.  They order the man to kiss a young woman, in knowing violation of their cultural norms,  

"The bus to Ramallah had to stop at an Israeli checkpoint between two hills, a place called Uyoun al-Haramiya. There had never been a day when soldiers hadn’t been stationed at this spot. First it was the British soldiers; after them the Jordanian now the Israelis.

Israeli Soldiers ordered the passengers off the bus. Then a soldier boarded it and walked the length of the aisle until he reached the long back seat. Then, from inside he looked back out at the faces of the passengers lined up on the tarmac looking for any expression other than indifference. The soldier got off the bus and circled around the passengers, stopping beside an attractive young girl to stare at her. He walked a few steps then stopped again. Turning, he signalled to three other soldiers, observing the scene from 15 metres away, to come closer. As they approached he walked to the end of the line of passengers and stopped by Yasseen..The soldier stopped directly in front of the attractive young girl, and there behind him now stood Na’eem. The soldier turned, looked at Na’eem, then looked back to the young girl. ‘Do you want the bus to pass?’ he asked Na’eem. Na’eem nodded in affirmation. ‘If you want the bus to pass, you have to kiss her!’ the soldier said, pointing at the girl. A glimmer lit up the soldiers’ eyes. They liked this game, it enthused them." 

The man refuses, he is hit with the butt of a rifle then kicked. The young woman begs him to kiss her.

Part of the deep sadness embedded in this story is how the residents of Ramallah have come to see constant cruelty as to be expected.

"In a turn that nobody saw coming the young girl bent down by the man on the ground in front of her, took his hand and whispered, ‘Kiss me, I beg you!’ Na’eem looked up at the passengers again; they were staring at the ground trying to not be there. He kissed her on her right cheek. As his lips met her face several of the soldiers whooped, as if they were cheering for a winning goal scored by their team, while others grumbled in disapproval."

Ibrahim Nasrallah was born in 1954 to Palestinian parents who were evicted from their land in Palestine in 1948. He spent his childhood and youth in a refugee camp in Jordan, and began his career as a teacher in Saudi Arabia. After returning to Amman, he worked in the media and cultural sector until 2006. To date, he has published 15 poetry collections, 21 novels, and several other books. In 1985, he started writing the Palestinian Comedy covering 250 years of modern Palestinian history in a series of independent novels. His works have been translated into English, Italian, Danish, Turkish, and Persian. Three of his novels have been shortlisted or longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction (IPAF) – sometimes referred to as the ‘Arabic Booker’ – and in 2018 his novel The Second Dog War won it. In 2012 he won the inaugural Jerusalem Award for Culture and Creativity, and his novel Prairies of Fever was chosen by The Guardian one of the ten most important novels written about the Arab world.

There are eight additional stories in the collection. I hope to post on them all.

Mel Ulm

The Oyster Princess (Die Austernprinzessin) is a 1919 German silent comedy film directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Victor Janson, Ossi Oswalda and Harry Liedtke. 58 minutes

Ernst lubitsch 

Born: January 29, 1892, Berlin, Germany - produces 65 silent films before moving to America

1922 Moves to Hollywood- Warner Pictures Signed him to a three year six picture contract

Died: November 30, 1947, Los Angeles, California, United States

Lubitsch directed two of my favourite movies, Ninotchka and To Be or Not to Be.

The film tells the story of Ossi Quaker, the spoiled daughter of an American oyster king, who dreams of marrying a real-life prince. Her father, eager to please her, arranges for her to meet Prince Nucki, an impoverished German nobleman. However, Nucki is wary of Ossi's wealth and sends his friend Josef, a commoner, to pose as the prince in order to assess the situation.

Josef, attracted to Ossi's beauty and wealth, falls in love with her and pretends to be the prince. However, his charade is soon exposed when Ossi's father discovers that Josef is not a real prince. Despite this, Ossi and Josef declare their love for each other, and the film ends with them happily married.

The Oyster Princess is a satirical comedy that pokes fun at the pretensions of the wealthy and the foolishness of social climbing. Lubitsch's direction is deft and witty, and the film is full of clever sight gags and sparkling dialogue. Oswalda is delightful as the spoiled Ossi, and Liedtke and Falkenstein are equally good as the two.

Lubitsch also emulates Griffith in the unfortunate custom of using white actors in blackface.

Films by German directors are an important part of post World War One German Culture, from the groundbreaking silent classics of the Weimar Republic to the movies of Leni Reisenthal in celebration of Nazi rule, beloved by Goebels, to modern Oscar winners, I am pleased to see German Literature Month XIII now welcomes posts on Films by German Directors

This is a post for German Literature Month XIII 2023 November 1 to December 7

German Literature Month is hosted by Lizzy’s Literary Life

https://lizzysiddal2.wordpress.com/2023/09/22/announcing-german-literature-month-xiii/

 

A Garden that Drinks Only from the Sky - A Short Story by Liana Badr - Translated by Alexander Hong from Arabic- 2021 - Included in The Book of Ramallah- A City in Short Fiction- edited and introduced by Maya Abu Al-Hayat

 The City of Ramallah, located in the West Bank area of Palestine, has become a focal point of world wide media attention. This Anthology was published prior to the initiation of the current conflict. In the very informative elegant introduction Maya Abu Al-Hayat tells us the literary history of the city going back to the 16th century up to 2021. She has selected a quite diverse range of stories but each one is informed by the occupation of the city.

Today's story, "A Garden that Drinks Only from the Sky" by Liana Badr centers on a woman whose family has always lived in Ramallah. She is unmarried and takes care of her widowed mother. Both live from the produce and income generated from a small garden. Now she has two fears, the long drought and encroaching Isreali bulldozers with machine gun torrents. She has no prospect of finding a husband because she is extremely short.

"Prophets, and beseech him for rainfall to water her patch of land at the edge of town. This allotment of hers had been parched by a merciless dry season. On her last visit, it was a complete mess. She found rocks strewn about, as if an earthquake had struck in the middle of the night, and saw how shrivelled and dry the leaves and branches of all the fruit trees were. If the skies didn’t open their floodgates soon, there would be no red prune jam to make for the seasons ahead. Breakfasts would be devoid of this lustrous preserve, whose sweetness would counterpoint the tartness of the Nablusi cheese and homemade bread, in that daily awakening of the taste buds. Without rain, there would also be no guarantee of figs, fuzzy green almonds, or the plump olives she packed so tightly in brine. None of this would be ready to help her face the long winter and absurdly high living costs ahead..."

She herself is seen as having powers of prophecy:

"She would go and beseech God, just as dozens of the women in her neighbourhood did every time they visited her, complaining and grumbling until she agreed to divine their fortunes from her coffee cups. Griping about men, children, or mother-in-laws, these women envied her foresight, her ability to pierce the veil between this world and the other. And yet to them, she also was just a ‘little girl’ whom no one would ever marry. ..She was raised by her mother and stayed on in the same house with her after her brothers had left. But her first priority was taking care of that piece of land on the western edge of Ramallah. Staying with her mother brought no benefits beyond the pleasure of reading fortunes in the fine lines of granules left at the bottom of people’s cups. The women would visit in the morning to drink cardamom coffee, showering her with compliments about her unusual skills. To her, though, it was no more than a question of interpreting sinuous brown marks. She knew why they believed so strongly in her supposed God-given abilities. Behind her back, the women would call her a midget, and assume she had dwarfism."

On her visit to the shrine of the prophet she becomes involved with another family, who give her the love her birth family did not.

When an Isreali soldier mistakes a man she has come to love for a terrorist he shoots him in the head.

I found this a very moving story.

There are nine other stories in the collection, I intend to post on them all.

Liana Badr is a novelist, story writer, journalist, and poet. Raised in Jericho, she obtained a BA in philosophy and psychology from the Beirut Arab University, but was not able to complete her MA due to the Lebanese Civil War. She has worked as a volunteer in various Palestinian women’s organisations, and as an editor in the Al Hurriyya review cultural section. After 1982, she moved to Damascus, then Tunis, and Amman. She returned to Palestine in 1994. Since her first novel A Compass for the Sunflower (Women’s Press), in 1979, she has since published three collection so of short stories (Stories of Love and Pursuit, Golden Hell, I Want the Day), a collection of novellas (Balcony Over the Fakahani), two further novels, a biography of the poet Fadwa Touqan and five children’s bo8oks. 

Mel Ulm

The Reading Life Review November 2023

November Authors 

 

Column One

1. Thomas Mann - Germany- Nobel Prize Winner

2. Jamil Jan Kochai - Born in Pakistan in a camp for Afghanistan refugees - is the author of The Haunting of Hajji Hotak and Other Stories, winner of the 2023 Aspen Words Literary Prize and a finalist for 2022 National Book Award. His debut novel 99 Nights in Logar was a finalist for the Pen/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel. His short stories have appeared in The New Yorker, Ploughshares, Zoetrope, The O. Henry Prize Stories, and The Best American Short Stories. His essays have been published at The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. Kochai was a Stegner Fellow at Stanford University and a Truman Capote Fellow at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Currently, he is a Hodder Fellow at Princeton University. --first appearance on The Reading Life with more to follow 

3. Jane Austen- England - I am embarked on a read through of her novels

Column Two -

 1. Joseph Roth- Born in the Ukraine- moved to Paris just before World War Two began- featured many times

2. Robert Walser- Switzerland- featured numerous times 

3. Christopher Haas- USA- author Alexandria in Late Antiquity first appearance 

Six countries are author birth places for November, only Jamil Jan Kochai is alive. Two writers were featured for the first time. One is a woman.

Blog Stats

As of today our posts have been viewed 7, 379,421 times. There are 4,386 posts online.

The most often viewed posts are all on short stories 

Home Countries of Visitors 

1. USA 

2. India 

3. The Philippines 

4. Singapore- highest per capita 

5. FInland - 2nd per capita

6. Germany 

7. Canada

8. UK

9. Ireland 

10. Brazil

I streamed 18  movies in November and posted upon 16.

  November 2023 Movies 

1. The Man Who Knew Too Much - Directed by Alfred Hitchcock- 1934

2. The End of The River- 1947 -Directed by Derek Twist- produced by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger 

3. Aguirre, the Wrath of God - Directed by Werner Herzog- 1972

4. The Blue Angel - directed by Joseph Sternberg- 1930

5.People on Sunday (German: Menschen am Sonntag) is a 1930 German silent drama film directed by Robert Siodmak and Edgar G. Ulmer

6. A Royal Scandal- 1945 - directed by Otto Preminger, produced and Scripted by Ernst Lubitsch 

7. Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror), is a 1922 German Expressionist horror film directed by F. W. Murnau

8. Meyer in Berlin (Meyer aus Berlin) -1919 - directed by Ernst Lubitsch 

9. The Little Shop Around the Corner- 1940 - directed by Ernst Lubitsch 

10. Wild Strawberries- 1957 - directed by Ingmar Bergman 

11. The Love Parade- 1929- directed by Ernst Lubitsch 

12. Osaka Elegy- 1936 - directed by Kenji Mizoguchi

13. The Grand Budapest Hotel - 2016- directed by Wes Anderson - no post

14. A Midsummer Night's Dream- 1968- directed by Peter Hall - no post

15. Sunrise: A Tale of Two Humans- 1927 - directed by F. W. Murnau 

16. Faust- 1927 - directed by F.W. Murnau directed 

17. Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol; literally, God and the Devil in the Land of the Sun) -1964 - directed and written by Glauber Rocha. 

18. My Darling Clementine- 1946 -Directed by John Ford 

19. Madame DuBarry- 1919 - directed by Ernst Lubitsch 

Mel u