The Power of Literature and Free Expression in the Middle East: A conversation with Ahmed Naji & Professor Tarek El-Ariss

Ahmed Naji is an Egyptian journalist and novelist who uses fact and fiction to examine and relay stories of the human struggle, informed and shaped by his life experiences in Egypt and the United States. After the publication of his novel, Using Life (2014), Naji was jailed in Egypt for "violating public decency." After nearly a year in prison, he moved to the United States. His most recent novel, Rotten Evidence (2023), chronicles his jail experience. He is the recipient of many honors and awards including the PEN/Barbey Freedom to Write Award.

In conversation with Professor Tarek El-Ariss, the James Wright Professor and Chair of Middle Eastern Studies at Dartmouth, Naji will share stories from his imprisonment, exile, and novel Rotten Evidence, reflecting on the power of literature and free expression in a climate of censorship and exile. 

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Made possible by The Middle East Initiative -- a collaborative effort of the John Sloan Dickey Center for International Understanding, the Middle Eastern Studies and Jewish Studies Programs at Dartmouth, and part of the Dartmouth Dialogues.

For more information, contact:

Dickey Center

dickey.events@dartmouth.edu

Permanent URL to this event: https://dickey.dartmouth.edu/events/event?event=76637