Literature
Pangram’s Box
When an anonymous X account alleged that the it-book of the year in France was likely AI-generated, the scandal threw the literary world into an existential crisis. But under the veneer of integrity lay deep connections to the far right.
Balancing Books
Long considered the literary center of the Arab world, Egypt has witnessed the cost of book printing, distribution and publishing rise steadily since the onset of its currency crisis in 2022. Now, many of the institutions behind Egypt’s literary culture face an uncertain future.
Inside Beirut’s Fight To Save Its Reading Culture
Lebanon’s bookshops once thrived as hubs of debate and dissent, but economic collapse, censorship and war have gutted Beirut’s literary scene. Still, readers, publishers and book cafes find inventive ways to resist and revive the culture of reading.
Remembering the Influential Argentine Critic Beatriz Sarlo
Beatriz Sarlo was one of Latin America’s foremost intellectual figures. She helped shape the canon of contemporary Argentine fiction, edited a leading cultural magazine and stirred debate on a range of issues, from the Falklands War and populism to literature and the role of memory in the aftermath of dictatorship.
Sami Michael Broke New Ground by Centering Arabs in His Hebrew Novels
The novelist Sami Michael died last year aged 97. Born and raised in Baghdad, he introduced characters previously marginalized or omitted in Hebrew literature: immigrants, Mizrahim, women and especially Arabs. His portrayals are sympathetic but unsparing, and his writing tackled issues central to Israeli society that were previously cloaked in silence.
Taiwan’s Literature Is Having a Moment in Central and Eastern Europe
Cultural exchanges fostered by Taiwan are helping its literature to find new audiences in Slavic languages, as support for Taipei’s sovereignty grows in Central and Eastern Europe.
Contemporary Fiction’s Responses to a Changing India
In recent years, several contemporary Indian novelists have written in direct response to ongoing sociopolitical changes in India and painted an intricate picture of what it means to be young and disenchanted in a deeply polarized country.