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SEPTEMBER 1999, page 153 Bulletin Board
“An Arabian Cultural Mosaic: Calligraphy, Music, Dance” will take place Sept. 26, 2-5 p.m., at the Studio Theatre of the College of Lake County’s Performing Arts Center, 19351 W. Washington St., Grayslake, IL. The program includes a calligraphy slide lecture by artist Nihad Dukhan, and performances by the Issa Boulos Quartet and the Star Turmos Aia Debke Dance Troupe. Tickets are $5, $3 for CLC students and staff, with children under 12 free. For additional information call Prof. Steve Infantino at (847) 543-2560. The 1999 Quest for Arab-American Literature of Accomplishment and Merit (QALAM) Awards Writing Contest, sponsored by Jusoor, MIZNA and Al-Jadid literary journals, is accepting entries in the categories of poetry, fiction and non-fiction. Rules and entry forms are available on the Web at www.hanania.com; additional information is available by e-mailing rayhanania@aol.com or Imajaj@earthlink.net, or by calling (708) 403-1203. Entries must be received by Sept. 1. The 1999 QALAM Awards (see above) will be presented as part of the 1999 National Professional Literary Conference on Arab Americans and Ethnic Writing, to be held Oct. 8-10 at the Day’s Inn, O’Hare South in Chicago. In addition to panels featuring noted Arab-American authors and journalists, the conference will include an open forum, awards dinner and writer’s workshop. Conference registration is $165 through Sept. 1, $195 through Oct. 7. Registration forms and additional information are available from USG Publishing, 1519 S. Windsor Dr., Orland Park, IL 60462, phone (708) 403-1203, fax (708) 403-3380, e-mail rayhanania@aol.com, Web http://www.hanania.com Search for Common Ground announces a new annual Award for Journalism in the Middle East, with a $1,000 prize for each winning Arabic-, Hebrew- and English-language article which contributes to better understanding between Arabs and Israelis. Entries must have been published in a recognized newspaper, magazine or other periodical between January 1998 and September 1999. An application form and additional details are available on the Search for Common Ground Web site, <http:www.sfcg.org>, or from Richard Eisendorf in the group’s Washington, DC office at (202) 265-4300, e-mail reisendorf@ sfcg.org. Submission deadline is Sept. 30.
Robert Polhill, an American professor at Beirut University College who was held hostage for 39 months, died July 1 of chemotherapy complications in Washington, DC at the age of 65. A native of Beacon, NY and a graduate of New York University, he fell in love with Lebanon while working there as an accountant in the early 1960s, and accepted a teaching position in business studies at Beirut University College in 1983. On Jan. 24, 1987 he was kidnapped along with three colleagues, and in April 1990 was the first American to be released after the Iran-Contra scandal broke. He is survived by his wife, Ferial Seikley, his mother and two sons. Fateh Al-Moudarres, Syria’s most famous painter, died in Damascus of cancer June 28, at the age of 77. A recipient of many international and Arab awards, he held more than 50 exhibitions throughout the Arab world, as well as in the U.S., France, Italy and Spain. A writer and poet as well, one of his most popular works was peppermint stalk, a collection of stories about the everyday lives and struggles of Syrians. Kamal El-Din Hussein, a former Egyptian vice president who helped Gamal Abdul Nasser overthrow King Farouk, died June 19 of liver cancer in Cairo at the age of 77. It was during the 1948 war with Israel that he joined Nasser’s “Free Officers” movement, later becoming a member of the ruling Revolution Council and minister of social affairs. He headed the National Guard during the Suez crisis of 1956, but later became an opponent of Nasser’s policies and style of government, which he blamed for Egypt’s defeat by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. Former U.S. Ambassador Robert T. Neumann died June 18 of cancer at his home in Bethesda, MD at the age of 83. A native of Vienna, he was imprisoned in Nazi concentration camps in 1938 and 1939, then emigrated to the U.S., where he received a master’s degree from Amherst College and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota, both in political science. During World War II he served in the U.S. Army in Germany, then taught at UCLA until 1966. He served as U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan from 1966 to 1973, to Morocco until 1976, and to Saudi Arabia in 1981, after directing the State Department transition team after Ronald Reagan was elected president. He retired in 1996 as director of Middle East programs at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, where he had worked off and on for 20 years. SIDEBAR
Persons wishing to contribute to the rebuilding of Lebanon’s infrastructure destroyed by Israeli air raids June 24 (see back cover) may send checks to the Embassy of Lebanon, 2560 28th St. NW, Washington, DC 20008, directed to: Account for Contributions & Donations, Account #700362123, The Central Bank of Lebanon, Beirut, Lebanon. |
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