Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, October/November 1997, PAGES 75-76

Education

Edward Said Honored for His Contributions

By Betsy Barlow

A binational committee of residents of Canada and the U.S. has planned a conference on the contributions to scholarship of Edward Said on Friday and Saturday, Sept. 19 and 20 in Windsor, Ontario. On Friday a reception will take place at the Cleary Auditorium, University of Windsor, at 6:30 p.m., followed by a dinner at 7:30 p.m., with Professor Richard Poirier, Rutgers University, and Ambassador Clovis Maksoud, director of the Center for the Global South at American University, as the speakers.

Four panels, all at the University of Windsor, will focus on areas of Edward Said's contributions, with Said in attendance. The first panel, on "Orientalism and Literary Criticism," scheduled for Sept. 19 from 3 to 4:30 p.m., will include Timothy Brennan, SUNY-Stony Brook, Yasmeen Abu Laban, University of Alberta-Edmonton, and Jennifer Wicke, New York University. Speakers for the second panel from 9 to 10:30 a.m. on Saturday and entitled "Culture and Imperialism," are Deidre David, Temple University, Leonard Davis, SUNY-Binghamton, and Irene Gendzier, Boston University.

The third panel on "The Arab World and Islam," taking place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., will include Nubar Hovsepian, CUNY, As'ad Abu Khalil, California State University-Stanislaus, and Atif Kubursi, McMaster University in Hamilton. The fourth and last panel on "Peace, Palestine and the Jews" will follow. Speakers are Marc Ellis, Visiting Scholar, Harvard University, Samih Farsoun, American University, and Naseer Aruri, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, with Elaine Hagopian, Simmons College, as discussant. The event will close with a concert by Simon Shaheen and his orchestra at 7 p.m. at the Chrysler Theater, Cleary International Center.

The program has been planned by members of the Detroit and Windsor Arab communities. The program chair is Dr. Naseer Aruri. Co-chairs for the event are Dr. Muhammad A. Shuraydi and Dr. Atif Kubursi, assisted by a steering committee of 32 members.

The cost is $60 (U.S.) or $75 (Canadian) for the whole package of events, with individual prices also available for each event. All events are open to the public. For further information, contact Marwan Taqtaq, from the U.S. 1 (800) 669-2105, ext 23, or within Canada (519) 252-2713, ext. 23.

Prizes for Writers

Two Arab Americans, Naomi Shihab Nye and Khaled Mattawa, both of whom are members of RAWI (Radius of Arab-American Writers, Inc.), were among seven recipients of Guggenheim fellowships forpoetry this year.

Naomi Nye will continue to do scheduled readings, but will cut down her travel to work on new poems. Her children's book, Sitti's Secrets, will be published in paperback by Aladdin this fall. Her novel Habibi, about an Arab-American girl who returns to Jerusalem, will be published in September by Simon & Schuster. In the spring of 1998 The Space Between Our Footsteps: Poems and Paintings from the Middle East, an anthology which she edited, will appear. A new book of poems, Fuel, will be published by Boa Editions next spring.

Khaled Mattawa was recently portrayed by Nathalie Handal in al-Jadid, the bilingual literary monthly published in California. He intends to write and travel.

The summer RAWI newsletter announces a number of other awards to Arab-American writers. Diana Abu-Jaber, whose first novel, Arabian Jazz, is now in its second printing, has completed a new novel, Memories of Birth, which earned her an NEA Fiction Fellowship Award. Poet Lawrence Joseph, a law professor at St. John's University in New York, has published a new book, Lawyerland: What Lawyers Talk About When They Talk About Law. He was profiled by Esquire Magazine last May in connection with its review of the book. Barbara Nimri Aziz's memoir "Al-Dawwara" was published in Jo's Girls: Tomboy Tales of High Adventure, True Grit and Real Life, edited by Christian McEwen. Barbara, the founding mother of RAWI, has recently been succeeded as president by Etel Adnan. For further information, contact the organization at PO Box 620, Prince Street Station, New York, NY 10012.

Splendors of Ancient Egypt

The Detroit Institute of Arts is hosting, until Jan. 4, 1998, the exhibit "Splendors of Ancient Egypt." The Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) in Dearborn and the Chrysler Fund hosted an opening reception on July 13 with a performance by the Yousry Sharif Egyptian Dance Ensemble. Many related programs are scheduled in conjunction with the exhibit. These include classic Egyptian films, three conferences, five storytelling events, theater, poetry readings, art history classes, family workshops on the masks of Egypt, games of ancient Egypt, pottery, and mummy cases. Other classes are scheduled on diverse topics such as cylinder seals and musical instruments.

Vanunu and Anti-Nuclear Middle East Campaigns

The Israeli Campaign to Free Vanunu has planned an international week-long campaign of events in Israel Sept. 24-30 to draw attention to his continued solitary confinement and the campaign for a nuclear-free Middle East. International representatives will join their Israeli counterparts for week-long demonstrations outside Ashkelon Prison, where Vanunu is confined, and at additional demonstrations during the week at the Dimona crossroads, the Israeli Knesset, and the office of Israel's president. The protest will conclude on the 11th anniversary of Vanunu's abduction from Rome by Israeli government agents. Those wishing to participate may contact the U.S. Vanunu coordinator, Sam Day, at 2206 Fox Ave., Madison, WI 55711, (608) 257-4764.

The campaign urges sympathizers in the U.S. and other countries to plan events at this time to emphasize the importance of working for a nuclear-free Middle East and the impropriety of 11 years of solitary confinement for Vanunu.

Boston Group Promotes Understanding of Arab Culture

The Institute of Near Eastern & African Studies (INEAS) in Cambridge, MA promotes Arab culture through public performances of music, plays, poetry readings, lectures, and through cultural units for schools. The group has offered programs in the Boston area, and is now available for engagements outside the state as well.

The organization recently sponsored concerts by Iraqi oud player Naseer Shemma, who is also a composer of great talent. Among my favorite Shemma compositions are "The Night's Silence in Baghdad" and "From Assyria to Seville," in which he uses his fingers instead of the pick in the style which the famous musician Ziryab introduced to the Andalusian court in the 9th century. A stunning piece is "It Happened at Al-Amiriyya," composed in 1991 following the American bombing of al-Amiriyya Shelter which killed 800 Iraqi civilians, including many children.

The composition begins by portraying a quiet Baghdad, then changes into a wail of sirens, followed by the sound of bombers. The plaintive fractured sounds that follow the bombardment are indeed poignant.

INEAS also sponsors Zannobia Productions, a series of middle- and high-school enrichment programs. Currently available are "Arabian Stallions," a unit of Arabic culture through music, stories and language; "Baghdad Cafe," emphasizing folktales, songs and cuisine; and the "Thousand and One Nights," which includes traditional and contemporary storytelling and poetry. For further information, or to join the group and receive its newsletter, phone (617) 499-8585; fax (617) 343-5950; e-mail: INEAS@aol.com; or write them at P.O. Box 809, Cambridge, MA 02142.