In this episode of Ehkili, we speak with Reem Khorshid and Faris Bseiso about their literary project Mudun, published by Kaph Books and supported by the Barjeel Art Foundation. They trace the origins of this anthology of short stories about Arab cities, which began as a pandemic project and grew into a collection featuring narratives both in Arabic and English. Highlighting diverse and often underrepresented urban experiences, the co-editors delve into the themes, selection process, and unique visual elements of the book. They reflect on the significance (and often danger) of nostalgia, the representation of city life, and the balance of stories to capture the essence of various cities across the Arab world. Tune in to hear about the compelling stories, standout illustrations, and the insightful reasons behind their editorial decisions.
00:00 Introduction
01:25 The Genesis of Mudun
05:36 Short Stories and Their Significance
07:35 Architectural and Urban Heritage
17:05 Nostalgia in Urban Narratives
20:43 Illustrations and Their Impact
26:30 Winners and Their Stories
36:55 Misunderstood Arab Cities
46:56 Conclusion and Future Prospects
Reem Khorshid is an architect and researcher holding a bachelor's degree in Architectural Engineering and Technology from Cairo University, Egypt. She previously worked as the lead researcher of ‘Building Sharjah’, a book about modern architecture in Sharjah that documents the emirate’s architecture and urban development. Reem has worked briefly on other research projects in Egypt about Cairo’s modernism and urban Informality. She's been a panelist at the Arab Conference at Harvard. Reem had also spoken at Yale University’s Gulf Architecture Symposium and the 10th Gulf Research Meeting at the University of Cambridge. Her articles have been featured by Egypt’s Mada Masr and the Daily News Egypt.
Connect with Reem 👉 https://www.instagram.com/reemkhorshid/
Faris Bseiso is a Palestinian-Syrian entrepreneur, writer and co-founder and CEO of Cipher Media, a licensing marketplace that supplies music to brands and professional sports teams for social media. In the publishing world, Bseiso most recently was a judge and editor for Mudun, the published anthology that followed the Barjeel Art Foundation's short story competition. As a writer, Bseiso has published bylines with CNN and Bloomberg, and short stories in various regional magazines. Now based in New York, Bseiso is also an ambassador for afikra and a DJ at Arab events in the city.
Connect with Faris 👉 https://www.instagram.com/bseisofaris/
Buy the book from Kaph Books 👉 https://www.kaphbooks.com/books/mudun-short-stories-arab-world/
Read online via Rusted Radishes 👉 https://rustedradishes.com/mudun-short-story-prize/
Explore Barjeel Art Foundation 👉 https://www.barjeelartfoundation.org/
Hosted by:
Mikey Muhanna 👉 https://www.instagram.com/mikey_mu/?hl=en-gb
Theme music: Peninsular, Tarek Yamani 🔊 https://spoti.fi/47I59ns
FOLLOW & RATE THE EHKILI PODCAST:
» Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/afikra-book-club/id1646400790
» Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4khpLDZ77PINLupT7xEIv7
» Anghami: https://play.anghami.com/podcast/1044638525
THIS SERIES IS PART OF THE AFIKRA PODCAST NETWORK
Explore all episodes in this series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfYG40bwRKl5xaTkBDrUKLCulvoCE8ubX&feature=shared
ABOUT AFIKRA
afikra | عفكرة is a movement to convert passive interest in the Arab world to active intellectual curiosity. We aim to collectively reframe the dominant narrative of the region by exploring the histories and cultures of the region – past, present and future – through conversations driven by curiosity.
📍 Local events in 40+ locations worldwide http://afikra.com/chapters
🎧 New podcasts + videos weekly http://afikra.com/podcasts
⚡ Become a member: https://www.afikra.com/membership
🔗 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/afikra_
🔗 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/afikra.official
🔗 Twitter: https://twitter.com/afikra