The mythology of the city of Sana’a writes itself: nestled in a valley; the charming, crumbling architecture; the winding alleys; and a history and heritage older than time itself. As Yemen’s largest city and its capital, a literary anthology through the lens of Sana’a seems like a natural choice. The Book of Sana'a joins an illustrious list of city fiction anthologies published by Comma Press in the UK. Their series titled "Reading the City" now includes over 30 books.
Yet, Yemen today is at a political crossroads and exalting Sana’a did not sit well with many of the writers in the collection. “Yemen right now is extremely divided,” explains Laura Kasinof, editor of theThe Book of Sana’a. “Maybe, emotionally, Sana’a comes with some stigma, particularly for Yemenis who are against the Houthis.”
Contributing writer and sociologist Rim Mugahed echoes Kasinoff: “It’s now such a political thing to mention Sanaa. I'm working in a think tank called Sana’a, and this caused us a lot of issues to reach out to people from the south, especially from the south, and to work with them and to let them trust us or believe us.”
“But it's Sanaa,” Mugahed happily exclaims. “It’s one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world.” She adds that no matter where in Yemen someone might come from, Sana’a always makes you feel at home. “Even those who now hate Sanaa because of the Houthis or because of the history of the previous regime led by Saleh, because of all the grievances…they still belong to Sana'a.”
Traditionally, Yemeni literature has encompassed writers from many cities but Kasinof admits that she jumped on a chance to assemble this collection of stories about Sana’a: “I'm a big fan of translated literature and its ability to bring a place alive in a way that nothing else can.” Kasinof’s relationship to Yemen and to Sana’a, in particular, is now decades long. She lived there for many years and her book Don't Be Afraid of the Bullets: An Accidental War Correspondent in Yemen (2016) covered the 2011 protests and political turmoil in Yemen.
Kasinof is self-conscious about not having a background in literature but started by reaching out to her many connections. It took a long time for the right stories to make their way to her. The war in Yemen created an urgency among contributors to amplify voices from the country but also simultaneously slowed things down. Those fleeing Yemen are now scattered across the world and the already small publishing industry in the country has been completely destroyed. Despite the challenges, The Book of Sana’a brings together 10 stories that include genres ranging from political satire, speculative fiction, the absurd and realism. War certainly echoes through many of these narratives as do themes of gender justice.
Mugahed, whose story “The Ruse of Sana’a” leads the collection, states that even though the situation in Yemen makes it impossible to think of anything but politics, she has found that it is only through fiction that the world can stop misunderstanding Yemen. She believes that, to some degree, Yemenis have simply been forgotten. “Even now, they are talking about Yemenis as numbers or as an issue or a crisis.” Mugahed declares that it is her responsibility as a writer “to humanize this narrative and to share people's stories.”
The Book of Sana’a has been published by Comma Press, UK and is available to buy here: https://commapress.co.uk/books/the-book-of-sanaa
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