São Paulo – The Arabic version of an anthology featuring work by 12 contemporary Brazilian writers will be released at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, from April 24 to 30 in the UAE. The book comprises previously unreleased work by Milton Hatoum, Marco Lucchesi, Maria Valéria Rezende and Socorro Acioli, and previously released work by Raduan Nassar, Marcelo Maluf (pictured), Ana Miranda, Youssef Miguel, Salim Miguel, Michel Sleiman, Luciana Savaget and Whisner Fraga. The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce is involved in the project.
Writers Marcelo Maluf, Ana Miranda and Marco Lucchesi, the anthology’s editor and project mastermind Mirna Queiroz, and organizer Leonardo Tonus will be in Abu Dhabi. Maluf is an upcoming Arab-descendant talent in Brazilian literature. Miranda and Lucchesi are part of the project’s goal of also featuring non-Arab writers who are somehow emotionally attached or influenced by that part of the world. According to Mirna, the intention is to portray the breadth of Arab influence in Brazilian culture.
The group will attend a launch event during the fair – the date is yet to be set. From 6 pm to 7 pm on the 27th, in the Al Multaqa Literary Salon they will speak on so-called ‘third culture,’ i.e. the connection between art, science, technology and philosophy, and on dialogue between literati and scientists for the benefit of all mankind.
The anthology includes excerpts from novels, tales, poems and unreleased texts. “The outcome has surpassed all expectations. We worked with top-notch professionals of the likes of Safa Jubran and Mamede Jarouche for the translation, Leonardo Tonus for organization, writers with different accents who deal with the subjects we wanted to tackle, like migration and otherness,” says Mirna. Jubran and Jarouche are some of the most renowned Arabic translators in Brazil., and Tonus is a professor of Brazilian literature at Sorbonne University.
According to Mirna, the goal is to captivate new Arab readers and engage in dialogue with them. She explains that the book’s release is also a market-oriented event, since the featured writers could eventually have their full work released in the UAE. “I am a firm believer in our literature, and I think it can perfectly communicate with Arab readers,” she says.
Online mag Revista Pessoa, which is in charge of the anthology project, is looking to get as many readers as it can into Brazilian literature. Mirna Queiroz is the magazine’s editorial director. In addition to the Arab chamber, partners for the anthology include the Kalima Project for Translation of the Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi, whose goal is to increase availability of global literature in Arabic.
The Arab Brazilian Chamber’ lines of work include supporting and carrying out cultural initiatives designed to connect Arabs and Brazilians. “This project is in line with the Arab Chamber’s mission of uniting Arab and Brazilian people, and there’s nothing better than culture when it comes to making that connection. It’s part of the Arab Chamber’s policy to both take Brazilian culture – with a touch of Arabism – elsewhere, and to bring the culture of Arab countries into Brazil,” Arab Chamber Culture director Silvia Antibas said of the anthology.
Most of the featured authors are having their work released in Arabic for the first time. For Marcelo Maluf, it will be one of his first overseas incursions. One of his tales has been translated into Spanish, and his best-known book, A Imensidão Íntima dos Carneiros (Portuguese for the Intimate Vastness of Lambs) is being translated into French. “It’s a great joy to see my work translated into the language my grandfather used to speak, and which I unfortunately didn’t learn,” he told ANBA.
In the book, Maluf turns invisible and visits his grandfather’s home a year prior to his death, as he sits down to write his childhood memories. The grandfather, Assad Simão Maluf, moved from Lebanon to Brazil in the 1920s after two brothers of his were murdered by the Ottoman Empire. Due to the trauma of war, Assad stopped speaking Arabic and refrained from passing it down to his descendants in Brazil. “I’m tracing my way back to my grandfather’s language through my work,” he says.
Maluf believes Arab readers will identify with many aspects of the anthology, but at the fair he hopes to learn what local readers think about his work. He would like to see A Imensidão Íntima dos Carneiros translated into Arabic, and believes the trip could lead to that. He won the São Paulo Prize for Literature for new writers in 2016, and his book on his grandfather was a finalist for the Jabuti Award that same year, among other accolades.
The Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi will handle sales of the anthology’s Arabic version. An e-book version will also be made available. According to Mirna Queiroz, the anthology will also get released in São Paulo, although no date has been set yet.
Revista Pessoa focuses on literature, Portuguese language and their connection with other forms of artistic expression. Issued online by publisher Mombak, it features articles, op-eds and chronicles. The magazine began releasing Brazilian anthologies about four years ago.
Quick facts
Abu Dhabi International Book Fair
April 24-30, 2019
Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Find out more here
Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
