Professors Elias Khoury and Sinan Antoon in The New Yorker: Two N.Y.U faculty members feature prominently in article about the modern Arabic novel

The latest issue of The New Yorker features a piece by Claudia Roth Pierpont on the modern Arabic novel. Among the novels reviewed by Claudia Pierpont are two works written by current M.E.S./affiliated faculty members: I’jaam by Sinan Antoon, Assistant Professor at the Gallatin School of Individualized Study, and Gate of the Sun by Elias Khoury, Global Distinguished Professor of Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies. The article makes for an interesting read, especially since it is meant to serve as a survey for those unfamiliar with the Arabic literary landscape. In addition to providing summaries of and commentary on a number of recent Arabic novels, Claudia Roth Pierpont meditates on the serious political commitment of contemporary Arab writers which, she believes, reflects both the precarious position of intellectuals within the Arab world and tortured history of their countries of origin.

You may read The New Yorker article here:

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/01/18/100118crbo_books_pierpont

For more on Gate of the Sun and I’jaam:

Gate of the Sun By Elias Khoury:

http://www.archipelagobooks.org/bk.php?id=11

I’jaam by Sinan Antoon:

http://www.citylights.com/book/?GCOI=87286100771670