Participants from abroad

Chawki Abdelamir
Well-known Iraqi poet and translator of poets. He left Iraq in 1970 and since 1973 has lived in Paris, where since 2003, he has been the Permanent Added Delegate of Iraq at Unesco. He directs the Unesco project Kitab fi Jareeda (Book in the Newspaper). Author of various volumes of poetry, some of them translated into French (by poets like Alain Jouffroy, Paol Keineg, Philippe Delarbre, Bernard Noël). As a translator he has himself translated into French the verses of the famous poet Adonis. In Italy some of his poems have been translated by Fawzi Al Delmi and are being prepared for publication.  

Mohammad Bakri
Israeli Arab, he is one of the most famous actors in the Near East. He is the main character of the film Private (2004), directed by Saverio Costanzo; his many roles include: The Body (2001) by Jonas McCord, Il Bambino di Betlemme (2002, for TV) by Umberto Marino and Jenin, Jenin, an Israeli production, written, directed and interpreted by Bakri in 2002. He is, moreover, the unforgettable main character in the well-known theatrical pièce taken from the novel “Il pessottimista” (Bompiani, 2002) by the Israeli Arab writer, Emile Habibi, one of the most innovative figures in contemporary Arab fiction.

Hoda Barakat
Lebanese writer, she has lived in Paris since 1989 where she directs the information section at the “Orient” radio. She is among the most interesting voices of contemporary Arab fiction, greatly appreciated also by international critics. Published in Italy the novels Malati d’amore (Jouvence 1997), L’uomo che arava le acque (Ponte alle Grazie, 2003).One of her tales, Congiunzione di rive, appeared in the anthology Venature mediterranee (translation and commentary by C. Ferrini, Mesogea 1999). An epistolary tale is in print at Edizioni Nottetempo. She has been awarded prestigious literary prizes, including the 2000Nagib Mahfuz prize. In 2002 she was nominated Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French Ministry of Culture.

Fawzi Al Delmi
Painter , poet and translator of poets. Born in Baghdad, in 1974 he moved to Italy where he studies in Milan at the Brera Academy of Fine Art. A very well-known artist, he has he has exhibited his works in personal exhibitions in Italy and abroad. As a poet he debuted with Li wa Lakum (For me and for you) 1983. Thanks to his mediation as translator, Italians are getting to know the great contemporary Arab poets, including Adonis, Qassim Haddad, Saadi Yusuf, Mohamed Bennis and Abbas Baydoun. In 2002 he won the National Prize for Translation (Ministry of Cultural Heritage). He teaches Languages and Culture Arab at the State University Milano-Bicocca and the Is.I.A.O. (Italian Institute for Africa and the Oriente) in Milan.

Edhem Eldem
Professor at the History Department of the University of Boğaziçi in Istanbul. He has collaborated with the University of Berkeley in California, with the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and with the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris. He has written for the most important Turkish and international scientific journals. Among his publications: French Trade in Istanbul in the Eighteenth Century, Leiden (Leiden 1999); The Ottoman City between East and West: Aleppo, Izmir and Istanbul, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 1999; Lo sguardo turco: rappresentare il Mediterranero (with Feride Cicekoglu, Mesogea, 2001).

Qassim Haddad
Born in Bahrain, he is one of the major Arab poets, well-known and appreciated throughout the Near East. He has directed the literary journal “Kalimat” and collaborated with the most important Arab newspapers. In 2001 the prestigious Sultan ‘Aways prize for poetry was conferred on him in Dubai. His verse has been translated into many languages. One of his volumes of poetry, Rimedio per la distanza, was translated by Fawzi Al Delmi and published by S. Marco dei Giustiniani (2004). He has an internet site of poetry and plastic art, considereda reference point for the Arab world. 

Bensalem Himmich
Among the foremost Moroccan novelists in Arabic, poet and professor of philosophy at the Mohammed V University of Rabat, he is the author of various essays of an historical and philosophical nature. One of his novels, translated into French as Calife de l’épouvante, was published with a preface by Juan Goytisolo. Another novel Il grande erudito (being translated in France by Gallimard and in Italy by Jouvence), centred on Ibn Khaldun, the great XIV-century Tunisian historiographer, received the 2002Mahfuz prize. In 2003 the writer was awarded the Sharjah/Unesco prize.

Edwar al-Kharrat
Egyptian writer, is nowadays one of the most authoritative voices of the literary panorama in all the Arab world, awarded considerable recognition. In 1968 he founded the avant-garde literary journal “Gallery 68”. His name is constantly associated with his city, the mythical Alexandria, where he was born in 1926, and to which he has dedicated some of his most important novels and stories, translated in various languages. Published in Italy: Alessandria, città di zafferano (Jouvence 1994), Le ragazze di Alessandria (Jouvence 1993), I sassi di Bubillo (Edizioni Lavoro 1999). Suoi scritti compaiono nell’antologia Scrittori Arabi del Novecento (translation and commentary by I. Camera d’Afflitto, Bompiani 2002), in L’altro Mediterraneo (translation and commentary by V. Colombo, Mondadori 2004), in Lingue di mare, Lingue di terra (translation and commentary by C. Ferrini, Mesogea 1999) and Venature mediterranee (translation and commentary by C. Ferrini, Mesogea 1999).

Ibrahim al-Koni
Lybian writer, he lives in Switzerland. Nowadays he is considered one of the most important figures in contemporary Arab fiction. His works have been translated into many European languages and he has obtained important recognition. In Italy the novel Pietra di Sangue (Jouvence 1999) has been published and Polvere d’oro (being printed - Ilisso 2005).his masterpiece, al-Magiùs (The magi), had great success and literary prizes in Germany, has been published in France (Editions Phébus 2005). His story, La profezia, appeared in the anthology L’altro Mediterraneo (translation and commentary by V. Colombo, Mondadori 2004). The desert and Tuareg traditions are constant elements in his works of fiction, in the skilful balance of forces between man and nature.

Zineb Laouedj
Among the best-known of Algerian Arabic poets. Professor of Arab literature at the University of Algiers and successively at the University of Paris VIII. Directs the journal “Cahiers de femmes” and the series “Empreintes”. She is the author of various volumes of poetry published in Arabic and translated into French. Some of her poems have been translated into Italian by Toni Maraini and are currently being printed.

Waciny Larej
Renowned Algerian writer. Professor at the University of Algiers until 1994. at present lives in Paris where he teaches Modern Arab Literature at the university of Paris-III-Sorbonne-Nouvelle. He has written many novels all in Arabic, they have been translated into various European languages. Published in Italy Don Chisciotte ad Algeri (Mesogea 1999), a passage of the novel La memoria dell’acqua, in the anthology Lingua di Mare, Lingua di terra (translation and commentary by C. Ferrini, Mesogea 1999); the story La memoria blu in Venature mediterranee, (translation and commentary by C. Ferrini, Mesogea 1999). In 2002 one of his novels, translated into French as Les Balcons de la mer du Nord (Sindbad/Actes Sud 2003), won the Algerian Novel Prize Algerino.

Yael Lerer
Israeli writer and journalist. Founded the journal “Mitsad Sheni”, published by the “Alternative Information Center”, an observatory on politics, society, culture and contemporary economy in Israel, Palestine and the Arab world, seen from a critical and progressive perspective. In Tel Aviv directs the publishing house “Andalus”, well-known for translations of Arab literary works into Hebrew. She has been the spokeswoman of the Palestinian philosopher and member of parliament Azmi Bishara at the Knesset. She is well-known for her commitment as an activist in movements for social and cultural justice in Israel.

Farouk Mardam-Bey
Among the best-known Syrian intellectuals. Lives in Paris where he directs the “Sindbad” series of Actes Sud and is Cultural Councillor at the Institut du Monde Arabe. Director of the journal Revue d'Èudes palestiniennes, he is responsible, under the pseudonym of Ziryab, for the gastronomic column in the magazine “Qantara”. He is the author of various books on Arab culture and history, as well as on the alimentary culture of the Mediterranean: Traité du pois chiche (Sindbad-Actes Sud, 1998), Le Pois chiche (in collaboration with Robert Bistolfi, coll. "Chroniques du potager" - Actes Sud, 1999), Le Petit Ziryab, recettes du monde arabe à l’usage de la jeune génération (at press with Actes-Sud Juniors). In Italy he has published La cucina di Ziryāb (Edizioni Lavoro, 2000). He has translated some works of contemporary Arab literature from Arabic to French.

Joseph Mifsud
Professore ordinario di Sistemi educativi comparati presso l’Università di Malta. Delegato per le Relazioni Internazionali e Direttore del Dipartimento di Pedagogia dell’Università di Malta. È il rappresentante dei programmi internazionali Erasmus Mundus e Tempus, nonché del progetto Socrates per la repubblica maltese. È stato uno dei maggiori promotori dell’ingresso di Malta nell’Unione Europea. 

Amel Moussa
Among the best-known of Arab poetesses. Born in Tripoli in Libya, at a young age moved to Tunis, where she lives. She has participated in numerous national and international poetry festivals both in Europe and in Arab countries. She has published three volumes of poetry. Her verse has been translated into English, French, Spanish and Polish. One of her volumes, La femmina dell’acqua nel regno del sé, was published by S. Marco dei Giustiniani (2003).

Renowned Egyptian writer. In the 1970s he moved to Switzerland where he worked at the United Nations, currently he lives in Cairo. He owes his fame above all to one novel, Zia Safia e il monastero (Jouvence, 1996), translated into many languages, which 2001 won for him the Italyn literary prize “Giuseppe Acerbi”. Some of his stories have been published in the anthologies Scrittori Arabi del Novecento (translation and commentary by I. Camera d’Afflitto, Bompiani 2002), L’altro Mediterraneo (translation and commentary by V. Colombo, Mondadori 2004) and Fuori dagli argini (translation and commentary by L. Casini, Edizioni Lavoro, 2003). Another of his novels L’amore in esilio is being translated by the publishers Ilisso.

Fu’ad al-Takarli
Iraqi writer. After having left Baghdad, where he worked for 27 years as a magistrate, he stayed in various European countries and in Tunisia. Nowadays he lives in Syria.his novels and stories have been translated into many languages. In Italy some stories have been published in two anthologies of Arab fiction (Scrittori Arabi del Novecento (translation and commentary by I. Camera d’Afflitto, Bompiani 2002); L’altro Mediterraneo (translation and commentary by V. Colombo, Mondadori 2004)and one of his novels, L’altro volto (Jouvence 2005). He is certainly one of the most eminent Iraqi authors, awarded important recognition and literary prizes throughout the Arab world. In 1999 he obtained the prestigious Sultan ‘Aways prize in Dubai for fiction

Lilia Zaouali
Tunisian sociologist and anthropologist. She has taught Anthropology of the Mussulman World at the University of Paris-VII and at the Sarah Lawrence American Academy. She has dedicated herself to the study of the Maghrebi ports and of some ethnic groups. At present she is mainly living in Tunis, Paris and Turin; she collaborates with the Law Faculty of the University of Eastern Piedmont, Alessandria. Since she started to study the history of food She has been collaborating with the international organization Slow Food. Among her publications: L’islam a tavola dal medioevo a oggi (Laterza, 2004); Il diario perduto di Leone l’Africano. Un Arabo in Occidente nel ‘500 (in « Dedica a Amin Maalouf », Associazione culturale per la prosa, 2002); Taifa dei Rais e Ordine dei Cavalieri di S. Stefano, potere e rappresentazione nelle città: un approccio comparativo (in « Atti del Convegno “ L’Ordine di S. Stefano e il mare ” », ETS, 2001), at the moment she is working on Italians of Tunisia. Tunisiens d’Italie (Cahiers du CIRCÉ, Sorbonne nouvelle).

Visar Zhiti
Albanian poet, among the best-known of his country. Arose as a symbol of the persecution of the communist regime and has a primary role in contemporary Albanian literature. Nowadays he is the advisory Minister for culture at the Albanian Embassy in Rome. In Italy he has had published the volume of poetry Dalla parte dei vinti (1998) by D’Agostino of Rome, and Croce di carne (1997) and Passeggiando all’indietro (1998) for the Oxiana editions of Pomigliano d'Arco (Na).