The writing of violence in the Middle East: inflictions

257 Pages·2013·1.718 MB·English

by  Mohaghegh, Jason Bahbak

The Writing of Violence in
the Middle East

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Suspensions: Contemporary Middle Eastern and Islamicate Thought
This series interrupts standardized discourses involving the Middle East and
the Islamicate world by introducing creative and emerging ideas. The incisive
works included in this series provide a counterpoint to the reigning canons of
theory, theology, philosophy, literature, and criticism through investigations
of vast experiential typologies—such as violence, mourning, vulnerability, ten-
sion, and humour—in light of contemporary Middle Eastern and Islamicate
thought.
Forthcoming:
Hostage Spaces of the Contemporary Islamicate World: Phantom Territoriality,
Dejan Lukic
The Poetics of Mourning in the Middle East: Elegies , Alina Gharabegian
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The Writing of Violence
in the Middle East
Infl ictions
Jason Bahbak Mohaghegh
Suspensions: Contemporary Middle Eastern and Islamicate Thought

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Continuum International Publishing Group
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www.continuumbooks.com
© Jason Bahbak Mohaghegh, 2012
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission
in writing from the publishers.
Jason Bahbak Mohaghegh has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988, to be identifi ed as Author of this work.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
EISBN: 978-1-4411-5063-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Mohaghegh, Jason Bahbak, 1979-
The writing of violence in the Middle East: infl ictions/Jason Bahbak Mohaghegh.
p. cm. – (Suspensions)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN 978-1-4411-0630-8 (hardcover)
1. Middle Eastern literature – History and criticism – Theory, etc. 2. Violence in
literature. 3. Literature, Experimental. I. Title.
PJ307.M643 2011
809´.8956 – dc23
2011027652
Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India
Printed and bound in Great Britain

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The following publishers and individuals kindly granted permission for
reprinting certain translated passages in this volume: Syracuse University
Press, Saqi Books, Post Apollo Press, Quartet Books, Brill Publishers, Ibis Press,
Yale University Press, American University of Cairo Press, Michael Hillmann,
Saeed Saeedpoor, Diana Der-Hovanessian, OneWorldPress.
The following publishers have requested the following acknowledgment for
reprinting certain translated passages:
Excerpts from Modern Arabic Poetry , ed. Salma Khadra Jayyusi. Copyright © 1987.
Columbia University Press. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.
Adonis, excerpts from “The Crow’s Feather” and “Remembering the First Century,”
from The Pages of Day and Night . Copyright @ 1994 by S. Hazo. Reprinted with
the permission of Marlboro Press/Northwestern University Press.
Forugh Farrokhzad, excerpts from “The Wall,” “Later,” “The Return,” “Border
Walls,” and “After You,” translated by Sholeh Wolpé, from S in: Selected Poems
of Forugh Farrokhzad . Copyright © 2007 by Sholeh Wolpé. Reprinted with the
permission of The Permissions Company, Inc. on behalf of the University of
Arkansas Press, w ww.uapress.com.
Taha Muhammad Ali, excerpts from “Thrombosis in the Veins of Petroleum” and
“Abd el-Hadi the Fool,” trans. P. Cole, Y. Hijazi, and G. Levin from So What .
Copyright © 2007 by P. Cole, Y. Hijazi, and G. Levin. Reprinted with the per-
mission of The Permissions Company, Inc. on behalf of Copper Canyon Press,
2006.
Mahmoud Darwish, excerpts from Unfortunately, It Was Paradise . Copyright © 2003
by M. Akash, C. Forche, S. Antoon, A. El-Zein. Reprinted with the permission
of the University of California Press.
Mahmoud Darwish, excerpts from M emory for Forgetfulness . Copyright © 1995 by I.
Muhawi. Reprinted with the permission of the University of California Press.
Excerpts from I f I Were Another: Poems by Mahmoud Darwish, translated by Fady
Joudah. Translation copyright © 2009 by Fady Joudah. Reprinted by permission
of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.
Mahmoud Darwish, excerpt from “Going to the World.” From J ournal of an Ordinary
Grief , translated from the Arabic by Ibrahim Muhawi. English translation copy-
right © 2010 by Ibrahim Muhawi. Copyright © Mahmoud Darwish/Actes Sud.
Reprinted by permission of Archipelago Books, www.archipelagobooks.org.
Nazim Hikmet, excerpt from “Since I’ve Been In Jail” from P oems of Nazim Hikmet ,
translated by Randy Blasing and Mutlu Konuk, Translation copyright © 1994,
2002 by Randy Blasing and Mutlu Konuk. Reprinted by permission of Persea
Books, Inc., New York. Excerpts from T he Year of Passages by Réda Bensmaia,
Translation copyright © 1995 by Tom Conley. Reprinted with the permission of
University of Minnesota Press.
Excerpts from T he Blind Owl by Sadeq Hedayat, copyright © 1957 by John Calder
(Publishers) Ltd. Used by permission of Grove/Atlantic, Inc.

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For the grandfather’s shadow . . .

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Contents
Series Foreword x
Preface: Violence, East/West x i
Chapter 0 Z ero-World Consciousness 1
Chapter 1 T hreat: Writings of Betrayal 1 9
Chapter 2 A nnihilation: Writings of Cruelty 3 9
Chapter 3 S harpening: Writings of Evil 6 0
Chapter 4 D eception: Writings of Midnight 8 1
Chapter 5 R age: Writings of Overthrow 1 07
Chapter 6 A ssassination: Writings of War 1 44
Chapter 6.5 I nterlude: Of the Factions, of the Barriers 1 57
Chapter 7 C onclusion (Of Those Who Have Become Jagged):
Reckonings of an Eastern Violence 1 69
Notes 1 85
Bibliography 1 97
Index 201
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