... as Tayyib Salih, Yahya Haqqi and Suhayil Idris who were preoccupied with the relationship bet... more ... as Tayyib Salih, Yahya Haqqi and Suhayil Idris who were preoccupied with the relationship between Arabs and the West (Al-Musawi, 2003). On the other hand, Al-... the norm in the Western literary tradition (Al-Musawi, 2003). Arab novelists, both ...
This article focuses on the Yemeni novel, a purely late 20 th century phenomenon which emerged re... more This article focuses on the Yemeni novel, a purely late 20 th century phenomenon which emerged recently following the Yemeni revolution in 1962 and the emergence of the modern nation state in Yemen. However, this new form suffers from serious marginalization in contemporary postcolonial studies. The novel " s appearance in English in 2001 serves many literary and cultural purposes. Taking the cultural particularity and marginalization of Yemen into account, the novel is both informative and imbued with meanings that participate in and contribute to the process of creating new identities of literacy practices by offering new horizons for reading multicultural literary texts such as the Arabic novel. This article evaluates the novel They Die Strangers (1972) by the Yemeni novelist Mohammed Ahmed Abdul Wali as a postcolonial narrative of emigration in which the writer argues about what is called the ideology of return. An emigrant himself, the writer discusses the impact of long-term emigration on the individual, his family and the society as a whole. The discussion, using a postcolonial perspective, covers issues related to the construction of the Yemeni identity, body politics, the Yemeni farmers " dream and the representation of women focusing on the body-land association. The discussion concludes with considering the novel as a parody against those who migrate leaving their women and their land behind, only to live and die as strangers.
The Palestinian novel is one of the most neglected, if not totally ignored, genres in postcolonia... more The Palestinian novel is one of the most neglected, if not totally ignored, genres in postcolonial and postmodern narrative fiction. As a resistant narrative, this literary form aims at creating 'a nation in words' and constructing 'a country in books' since it has disappeared from maps. There are many Palestinian novelists, both males and females, who are struggling for existence in a world totally hostile to them and to their nation. However, it is Ghassan Kanafani (1939-72) who first gave voice to the voiceless and silent people of Palestine. He wrote many novels in which his sole aim was to narrate his nation. This paper evaluates 'Men in the Sun' as a " national " Palestinian form which aims to represent the Palestinian " nation ". Taking Anderson (1991) and Bhabha (1990)'s theoretical assumptions about the historical relationship between the nation and the novel into account, we would argue that 'Men in the Sun' represents a Palestinian dream of giving expression to the national longing for a form. Edward Said ' s theory about resistance literature is crucial in this context. The discussion concludes by considering the novel as an example of a narrative of resistance.
This paper aims at giving a critical account of the status of the Yemeni novel which can be consi... more This paper aims at giving a critical account of the status of the Yemeni novel which can be considered as a direct and ultimate outcome of a literary modernism that has evenly evolved in the Yemeni literary and cultural scene. As a late 20th century narrative phenomenon, the Yemeni novel suffers from a serious marginalization not only in its own literary and historical context, but also in both contemporary Arabic and world literatures. The focus is placed on examining a recently published novel entitled, Mushaf ahmar(2010), by the Yemeni writer Mohamed Al-Garby Emran. The title itself is controversial and it has been translated by the publisher in the second front page as " Red Koran ". Our choice of this particular text stems from the fact that it is a representative work which underlies the impact of modernism on the Yemeni individual and society before, during and after the unification of the country. The novel raises many questions about politics, religion, sexuality, and gender issues within the Yemeni context. The structure of the novel itself and the use of the epistolary form is remarkable and is worthy of investigation. Within this context, AlGarby Emran and his text can be viewed as a salient piece of fiction that encompasses the presence of modernity and the conflict with the traditional society. The main reason behind selecting this novel is that it marks a new departure from the other Yemeni novels in terms of its themes, technical devices and discursive strategies.
Much has been written about the theme of encounter between Arabs and the West in Arabic narrative... more Much has been written about the theme of encounter between Arabs and the West in Arabic narrative fiction. However, most if not all of the previous studies have a masculine stamp in that they speak about the experience of many Arab males and their encounters with Western females. Many attendant thematic issues have been dealt with in such representations as culture shock, cultural values, personal attitudes and religious distinctions between involved characters. Ramzia Al-Eryani, a prominent Yemeni female writer and an active feminist, however, provides a totally different thematic treatment of this encounter. In fact, she has participated in and contributed to the dialect between Arabs and the West from a feminist perspective. She has reversed the norm by characterizing a Yemeni girl who was desired by an American man to be his wife, not his girlfriend. In her short story entitled Algaribah, "The stranger", published in her third collection of short stories entitled Assama tomter qutnan translated as "The sky is raining cotton"(1999), Al-Eryani provides a novel treatment to such theme. Furthermore, her representation has a local flavor since she attempts to deal with an enduring problem forthe Yemeni female whose rights to marry and select her partner has been hijacked by her male guardians. She has tackled the issue from a feminist perspective that is quite distinctive from other treatments by Arab male writers. Building on an eclectic theoretical framework, this paper attempts to analyze one of Ramzia Al-Eryani's short stories that are still imprisoned within the local Yemeni linguistic and cultural barricades.
... as Tayyib Salih, Yahya Haqqi and Suhayil Idris who were preoccupied with the relationship bet... more ... as Tayyib Salih, Yahya Haqqi and Suhayil Idris who were preoccupied with the relationship between Arabs and the West (Al-Musawi, 2003). On the other hand, Al-... the norm in the Western literary tradition (Al-Musawi, 2003). Arab novelists, both ...
This article focuses on the Yemeni novel, a purely late 20 th century phenomenon which emerged re... more This article focuses on the Yemeni novel, a purely late 20 th century phenomenon which emerged recently following the Yemeni revolution in 1962 and the emergence of the modern nation state in Yemen. However, this new form suffers from serious marginalization in contemporary postcolonial studies. The novel " s appearance in English in 2001 serves many literary and cultural purposes. Taking the cultural particularity and marginalization of Yemen into account, the novel is both informative and imbued with meanings that participate in and contribute to the process of creating new identities of literacy practices by offering new horizons for reading multicultural literary texts such as the Arabic novel. This article evaluates the novel They Die Strangers (1972) by the Yemeni novelist Mohammed Ahmed Abdul Wali as a postcolonial narrative of emigration in which the writer argues about what is called the ideology of return. An emigrant himself, the writer discusses the impact of long-term emigration on the individual, his family and the society as a whole. The discussion, using a postcolonial perspective, covers issues related to the construction of the Yemeni identity, body politics, the Yemeni farmers " dream and the representation of women focusing on the body-land association. The discussion concludes with considering the novel as a parody against those who migrate leaving their women and their land behind, only to live and die as strangers.
The Palestinian novel is one of the most neglected, if not totally ignored, genres in postcolonia... more The Palestinian novel is one of the most neglected, if not totally ignored, genres in postcolonial and postmodern narrative fiction. As a resistant narrative, this literary form aims at creating 'a nation in words' and constructing 'a country in books' since it has disappeared from maps. There are many Palestinian novelists, both males and females, who are struggling for existence in a world totally hostile to them and to their nation. However, it is Ghassan Kanafani (1939-72) who first gave voice to the voiceless and silent people of Palestine. He wrote many novels in which his sole aim was to narrate his nation. This paper evaluates 'Men in the Sun' as a " national " Palestinian form which aims to represent the Palestinian " nation ". Taking Anderson (1991) and Bhabha (1990)'s theoretical assumptions about the historical relationship between the nation and the novel into account, we would argue that 'Men in the Sun' represents a Palestinian dream of giving expression to the national longing for a form. Edward Said ' s theory about resistance literature is crucial in this context. The discussion concludes by considering the novel as an example of a narrative of resistance.
This paper aims at giving a critical account of the status of the Yemeni novel which can be consi... more This paper aims at giving a critical account of the status of the Yemeni novel which can be considered as a direct and ultimate outcome of a literary modernism that has evenly evolved in the Yemeni literary and cultural scene. As a late 20th century narrative phenomenon, the Yemeni novel suffers from a serious marginalization not only in its own literary and historical context, but also in both contemporary Arabic and world literatures. The focus is placed on examining a recently published novel entitled, Mushaf ahmar(2010), by the Yemeni writer Mohamed Al-Garby Emran. The title itself is controversial and it has been translated by the publisher in the second front page as " Red Koran ". Our choice of this particular text stems from the fact that it is a representative work which underlies the impact of modernism on the Yemeni individual and society before, during and after the unification of the country. The novel raises many questions about politics, religion, sexuality, and gender issues within the Yemeni context. The structure of the novel itself and the use of the epistolary form is remarkable and is worthy of investigation. Within this context, AlGarby Emran and his text can be viewed as a salient piece of fiction that encompasses the presence of modernity and the conflict with the traditional society. The main reason behind selecting this novel is that it marks a new departure from the other Yemeni novels in terms of its themes, technical devices and discursive strategies.
Much has been written about the theme of encounter between Arabs and the West in Arabic narrative... more Much has been written about the theme of encounter between Arabs and the West in Arabic narrative fiction. However, most if not all of the previous studies have a masculine stamp in that they speak about the experience of many Arab males and their encounters with Western females. Many attendant thematic issues have been dealt with in such representations as culture shock, cultural values, personal attitudes and religious distinctions between involved characters. Ramzia Al-Eryani, a prominent Yemeni female writer and an active feminist, however, provides a totally different thematic treatment of this encounter. In fact, she has participated in and contributed to the dialect between Arabs and the West from a feminist perspective. She has reversed the norm by characterizing a Yemeni girl who was desired by an American man to be his wife, not his girlfriend. In her short story entitled Algaribah, "The stranger", published in her third collection of short stories entitled Assama tomter qutnan translated as "The sky is raining cotton"(1999), Al-Eryani provides a novel treatment to such theme. Furthermore, her representation has a local flavor since she attempts to deal with an enduring problem forthe Yemeni female whose rights to marry and select her partner has been hijacked by her male guardians. She has tackled the issue from a feminist perspective that is quite distinctive from other treatments by Arab male writers. Building on an eclectic theoretical framework, this paper attempts to analyze one of Ramzia Al-Eryani's short stories that are still imprisoned within the local Yemeni linguistic and cultural barricades.
Uploads