New Kids on the Blog - Young Arab Literature on the Internet

with Ghazi Gheblawi, Hassim Blasim, Sudanese thinker and Ghada Mohamed Mahmoud
Sep 25, 2010 01:00 PM
Reflections
Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung
Authors Hassan Blasim, Sudanese Thinker, Ghada Mohamed Mahmoud, Ghazi Gheblawi
Host Doreen Khoury
Speaker Frank Arnold

In the recent years the political activities of Arab bloggers have drawn international attention. Less prominent are the bloggers who are using new social media to create literature. The internet helps young authors in particular to evade oppressive state censorship, to discuss religious matters freely and diverge from the cultural mainstream. Many Arab authors have won large followings with their courageous writing, and they are able to actively communicate with their »fans« over the internet. This success has lead to some of the blogs being published as books. In particular young female authors have managed to break free from existing taboos and give this new Arab generation an uncensored literary voice which calls for development and renewal. In this event four authors will read from their blogs and take part in a panel discussion on literature, freedom of thought, gender and identity in the Arab world in new media.