São Paulo – The Center for Arab and Islamic Studies (CEAI) at the Federal University of Sergipe (UFS) in Brazil has launched the Book Club Arab World and Its Diaspora. The meetings will be held on a monthly basis, and according to the organizers, this is the first Brazilian book club ever to focus on the theme. The first meeting will take place on July 15 from 7 to 9 pm (BRT). Registration for participating in the club is free of charge and is open. The entry form is here. Pictured above, a CEAI meeting before the pandemic.
The project was born from a colletive search of researchers and readers for titles from the Arab world and its diaspora. “For a long time, I’ve wished to participate in a book club on the subject, but I’d never seen it happen. So, following the recent events in Palestine in May, we at CEAI felt the need to discuss what takes place in the Middle East from different perspectives, thus avoiding the superficial transience with which the big media address Palestine and the Arab countries,” said Marianne Gennnari, one of the creators of the club.
Gennari holds a master’s degree in Social History from the University of São Paulo and has participated in CEAI since 2020. She explains that the books are collectively curated. “The idea is diversifying the countries as much as possible. So, a Palestinian Chilean author can get on the reading list, for example. We also want to mix contemporary pieces and more classical texts as much as possible,” she said.
CEAI coordinator Adriano Godoy de Campos points out that the CEAI Book Club aims to promote a very rich literary production that is shortly discussed in Brazil. “Fortunately, Brazilian publishing houses have recently increased the number of Arab titles, which has been benefited by the fact that Brazil has great Arabic-Portuguese translators,” Campos added.
Monthly meetings
The book chosen to launch the project was Beirut Noir, a short story collection organized by Lebanese author Iman Humaydan. The title was published in Brazil by Editora Tabla, featuring translation by Pedro Criado. The group at the university in Sergipe state has strike a partnership with the publishing house. The Club’s participants will have a discount on the purchase of Beirut Noir, and the walkthrough to access the coupon will be sent by e-mail.
Every encounter will be moderated by the members of CEAI as well as special guests. According to the organizers, the initial sign-up ensures participation in the meetings for the next three months. The idea is monitoring the amount of people that will actively participate in the meetings and then limiting the spots if necessary.
The book choice will be made public 40 to 45 days before the online meeting. The encounters will take place at the third Thursday of every month. The upcoming dates are August 19 and September 16.
Quick Facts
Book Club Arab World and Its Diaspora
First Meeting
July 15, 7-9 pm (BRT)
Find out more: https://www.instagram.com/ceai_ufs/
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
