Laila Lalami

I recently came across Princeton University’s Online Arabic Poetry Project, which presents excerpts from the work of five great Arab poets: Imru al-Qays, Yazid ibn Muawiya, Rabia al-Adawiya, Abu Nuwas, and al-Mutanabbi. You can listen to the poems in the original Arabic and then read the English translation.

I will be doing a reading from Secret Son in London this week, at the invitation of Nii Ayikwei Parkes. Here are the details:

Friday, July 17
7:30 PM
Reading and Discussion
Poetry Cafe
22 Betterton Street
London

If you’re a reader from London, come on out and say hello.

Eleven years ago, the Seattle Public Library launched a program to get people in the city to read and discuss the same book. (This program has since been emulated by many other libraries in cities across the United States.) This year’s pick is my novel, Secret Son, so I will be visiting Seattle next May for readings and discussions centered around the book. I’ll also be giving a public lecture as part of the Seattle Arts and Lectures series.

I’m preparing to go on a rather long trip–to England, Morocco, and Italy–which means that posting in this space will be somewhat sporadic. I will, of course, pop in here as often as I can. I’ve also prepared a few short posts that should go up automatically while I’m away. More soon.

I was somewhat surprised to discover recently that one of the most common search terms that lead readers to this blog is “Ahmed Marzouki.” You’ll remember that Marzouki is a former political prisoner who spent 18 years and 3 months of his life in the infamous Tazmamart jail. I wrote a review on this blog of his incandescent memoir, Tazmamart: Cellule 10, a few years ago.

I bring this up because I was recently reading Neil MacFarquhar’s new book, The Media Relations Department of Hizbollah Wishes You A Happy Birthday: Unexpected Encounters in the Changing Middle East. (Phew. What a mouthful!) This is a memoir of the years MacFarquhar spent in the region, and it includes a chapter on meeting Marzouki. Here is an excerpt:

“It is hard to find words to describe the horrors we lived—all alone, no light, no medicine, little food,” Marzouki said to me. Every time I asked him to remind me how long he had been a prisoner, he always responded “eighteen years, three months,” not rounding off a moment. “It was an eternal night.”

By bribing sympathetic guards, the men finally got word to their families that they were still alive despite the fact that King Hassan and his senior advisers denied that Tazmamart existed. The first significant break came after one officer’s daughter, a high school senior, scored among the top ten students in the entire country on the mandatory university entrance exams. During an audience with King Hassan, the king asked if there was anything they wanted and the girl bravely asked when her father was going to be released from Tazmamart. As Marzouki described it, the king calmly turned to an aide and asked, “Is anyone still alive in Tazmamart?” It took several more years before an international campaign finally pressured the monarch to release the men in September 1991. “We were ghosts, skeletons who could barely talk.”

MacFarquhar’s book came out in April; I picked up a copy at the lovely Harvard Bookstore in Cambridge.

The Moroccan magazine Tel Quel did an interview with me a couple of weeks ago; you can find it here. In other news, my first book, Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits, is now available on the Kindle. My new novel, Secret Son, should be available in that format soon as well. And take a look at the Santa Barbara Independent’s recommended summer reading list.

I find myself these days taking a lot of notes for my new novel, but not quite daring to start the process of writing it. I am not sure why. I wonder if it is just a fear of new beginnings, or if it is something else. The truth is, I don’t mind too much. I’m rather enjoying this state of being in between books. There is pleasure in the pathless woods, Byron once wrote. And I suppose I am not in a rush to find a path yet for this new novel.

When my first book was sold, several fellow writers suggested I hire an independent publicist. I think the common wisdom is that, because of the shrinking space devoted to books on radio, print, and television, debut authors need the extra help. But then I met Michael Taeckens, who is director of publicity for Algonquin, and I realized I had nothing to worry about: he is one of those rare people who is absolutely amazing at what he does. And he also happens to be a wonderful person and a good friend.

I’m very happy to report that Michael has an anthology coming out this summer. It’s called Love is a Four-Letter Word, and it includes contributions from Junot Díaz, Kate Christensen, Gary Shteyngart, Maud Newton, Jami Attenberg, and Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, among many others. The essays are all true stories of heartbreak, but they are told with wit and wisdom, with humor and honesty. A great summer read.