Monday, November 20, 2006

Words Without Borders--Spotlight on Libya

THE MAGIC LANTERNS OF LIBYAN LITERATURE
"Like a bottled genie, Libya’s literature whispers to us mysteriously, until those moments when its container is buffed properly, its luster blazes and the spirit within reveals marvels and wonders beyond the imagination. It happened when Libya discovered oil in the 60s, and it struck a well of poetry, prose, and press that its fearful master soon bottled up." --Words Without Borders


And the stories remain albeit mostly hidden still. I'm no longer sure if it's external censorship, self-censorship, or just a conservative culture of privacy that makes it this way. It's possible that people prefer to keep to the oral tradition of story telling in addition to a fear of leaving written documentation that could lead back to them. What I do believe is that there are treasures of stories among Libyans that are waiting for the right time or the right question.

I am positively amazed that Khaled Mattawa and Words Without Borders have put together a Libyan publication. I'm also thankful. The stories are super interesting and I send my blessings to Mattawa for facilitating this.

For some Libyan stories, check out Mint Flavored Hiccups or Wet Sleeves. Or al-Koni's "Sufi Shaykh."

Let me know what you think... I'd be interested in discussing.

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Prominent Gaddafi son leaves to work abroad - Yahoo! News

Prominent Gaddafi son leaves to work abroad - Yahoo! News

"TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Saif al-Islam, a prominent son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who made a rare public criticism of the country's political system in August, is leaving to work overseas, an official source said on Friday. "

Interesting developments in Libya. Definitely got my brow raised...

Prominent Gaddafi son leaves to work abroad - Yahoo! News

Prominent Gaddafi son leaves to work abroad - Yahoo! News

"TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Saif al-Islam, a prominent son of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi who made a rare public criticism of the country's political system in August, is leaving to work overseas, an official source said on Friday. "

Interesting developments in Libya. Definitely got my brow raised...

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Reporters sans frontières - Libya: In Libya, you can criticize Allah but not Gaddafi

Reporters sans frontières - In Libya, you can criticize Allah but not Gaddafi

"Beyond the high-sounding and often sincere declarations, in the view of Reporters Without Borders only the appearance of privately-owned and really independent news media will allow us to talk of real change in Libya. This is not yet the case."--RWB

Reporters without Borders (or Reporters sans frontières) published the above article in October 2006. Yes, I guess it is self serving, but sometimes you gotta do it. I found some other Libya-related goodies that I'll be posting soon too.