Hear the voices from the Center of the world
Secret Kingdoms welcomes Jordan Elgrably, founding editor of The Markaz Review, for a conversation about Arab/Middle Eastern literature and arts. The conversation will focus in particular on Palestine as the centre of the world today, and its importance as a world rallying cry against war, occupation, apartheid, and a call for freedom of expression. It has become the litmus test by which many politicians are judged, and friendships are tested.
But peace, and with it the preservation of Palestine as a country, a people, and a culture, with its rich literary history, is paramount, and this will only ever come through new conversations, and new friendships. In an evening designed to create conversation and new friendships, Jordan Elgrably presents several books curated by The Markaz Review, the literary arts review for the SWANA region. He makes the case for Palestine as a central conceit of world literature today, just as South African literature served as a rallying cry for freedom in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Jordan Elgrably is a Franco-American and Moroccan writer and translator, whose stories and creative nonfiction have appeared in numerous anthologies and reviews, including Apulée, Salmagundi, and The Paris Review. He is the editor of Stories from the Center of the World: New Middle East Fiction (City Lights 2024) and co-editor with Malu Halasa of Sumūd: a New Palestinian Reader (Seven Stories Press 2024). He founded The Markaz Review in 2020 and served as its editor-in-chief for six years. He now the publisher.
By sharing the stories from The Markaz (“the center” in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Pashto, and Dari) and celebrating cultural pluralism, the review aims to counter racism, xenophobia, and exclusion with knowledge, empathy, and artistic expression.
He was the founder and director of the Levantine Cultural Center/The Markaz in Los Angeles (2001-2020). He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Rachel Corrie Conscience and Courage Award from the ADC, and grants from Open Society Foundations and such literary foundations as Hawthornden and de Groot. He is based in Montpellier, France and California.
Jordan Elgrably is a Franco-American and Moroccan writer and translator, whose stories and creative nonfiction have appeared in numerous anthologies and reviews, including Apulée, Salmagundi, and The Paris Review. He is the editor of Stories from the Center of the World: New Middle East Fiction (City Lights 2024) and co-editor with Malu Halasa of Sumūd: a New Palestinian Reader (Seven Stories Press 2024). He founded The Markaz Review in 2020 and served as its editor-in-chief for six years. He is now the publisher.
By sharing the stories from The Markaz (“the center” in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Pashto, and Dari) and celebrating cultural pluralism, the review aims to counter racism, xenophobia, and exclusion with knowledge, empathy, and artistic expression.
He was the founder and director of the Levantine Cultural Center/The Markaz in Los Angeles (2001-2020). He is the recipient of numerous awards including the Rachel Corrie Conscience and Courage Award from the ADC, and grants from Open Society Foundations and such literary foundations as Hawthornden and de Groot. He is based in Montpellier, France and California.
The Event will include a conversation with Jordan, plus a Q&A. Refreshments will be served and there will be a signing. The event is free, places are limited, and we ask that you buy a 3€ voucher, redeemable at the event.
