Xavier Lufin and Dr. Günther Orth are the guests of the James Murua Literary LiveStream on Wednesday, October 27, 2021 at 18:00 GMT/ 19:00 WAT/ 20:00 CAT/ 21:00 EAT. You can join the stream, brought to you in cooperation with Frankfurter Buchmesse with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office, on Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter.
In 2020, we introduced the James Murua Literary LiveStream to shine a light on the African literary ecosystem and ways to make it better. Previous guests to the stream have been Abubakar Adam Ibrahim, Maaza Mengiste and Antje Rávik Strubel; Ondjaki and Philipp Khabo Koepsell; Mariette Tchamda Mbunpi and Annette Michael; as well as Nyana Kakoma and Mariela Nagle. The latter events were brought to you in cooperation with Frankfurter Buchmesse with financial support from the German Federal Foreign Office.
In 2021, the literary LiveStream returned with Tsitsi Dangarembga, Volha Hapeyeva and Ralf Nestmeyer; Chikè Frankie Edozien and Michaela Dudley; Okechukwu Ofili and Lena Renold; Sharon Dodua Otoo and Dr Joyce Nyairo; Jama Musse Jama and Stefanie Hirsbrunner; Kalaf Epalanga and Jessemusse Cacinda; and Beata Umubyeyi Mairesse and Edwige Renée Dro.
The guests for the livestream for October are Xavier Lufin and Dr. Günther Orth and their topic will be;
Arabic writing in Africa, Europe, and beyond
Arabic is one of the most widely spoken languages in Africa and the Middle East as well as one of the fastest growing in many parts of the world. Its speakers have developed an advanced ecosystem of publishers, writers, prizes, fellowships, and loads more.
On our livestream this month, we learn about the opportunities and challenges available to those who write in, understand, and follow writing in the Arabic language on the continent, Europe and further afield. We also learn about the unique things in Arabic writing and publishing where genre and style, as well as academia and models for commerce, are concerned.
Xavier Luffin
Xavier Luffin is a Professor of Arabic Literature at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium). He has translated several novels, short stories, poems, and dramas from Arabic into French. His published translations include novels by Ahmad al-Malik and Amir Tagelsir (Sudan), Rachid Daif (Lebanon) and Samir Naqqash (Israel-Iraq), as well as Nawal el-Saadawi’s drama, Isis. He has also translated Vamba Sherif’s novel Bound to Secrecy. His academic research focuses on the representations of Africans in Arabic Literature as well as on the Arabic literature of Africa. He is preparing a book in English about the representations of African-Americans in the Arabic Fiction.
Dr. Günther Orth
Dr. Günther Orth is an academic who has taught Arabic language at the universities of Erlangen, Würzburg, Regensburg, FU Berlin and Bochum. He is an interpreter and translator for Arabic with published articles on interpreting as well as having numerous published translated works in books and magazines.
Some of the work that he has translated from Arabic to German is Der Messias von Darfur by Abdelaziz Baraka Sakin and Freiheit: Heimat, Gefängnis, Exil und die Welt by Yassin Al-Haj Saleh.
The two will join the LiveStream at 18:00 GMT/ 19:00 WAT/ 20:00 CAT/ 21:00 EAT. To interact with them, you can join the stream on Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter.
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