Amara Lakhous

Amara Lakhous (born Algiers, 1970) is an Italian author, journalist and anthropologist of Algerian origin. He currently lives in New York City.

Early life

Lakhous was born in 1970 in Algiers, Algeria, in a Berber family with nine siblings. ^[1] He graduated with a degree in philosophy from the University of Algiers. He also obtained a degree in cultural anthropology from the La Sapienza University in Rome with a thesis on the second generation of Muslim Arab immigrants in Italy. ^[2]

Career

Lakhous wrote his first book, titled The Bedbugs and the Pirates, in 1993. It was written in the Algerian dialect of Arabic and published in a bilingual Arabic-Italian text in 1999. ^[3] In 1994, Lakhous began work as a reporter for the Algerian national radio. Shortly thereafter, he left for Italy following death threats from Islamists. From 1995, he worked in Italy as a cultural mediator, interpreter, and translator in the field of immigration. ^[3] In 2001, he wrote another Arabic-language novel based on his early years in Rome, titled How to be Suckled by the Wolf Without Getting Bit. He then rewrote the novel in Italian, publishing it as Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio in 2006, which received critical and popular acclaim. ^[3] The book has been translated into Dutch, English, and French and was made into a film  [ it ] in 2008. ^[3]

Between 2003 and 2006, he was a journalist with the Adnkronos International news agency, based in Rome. Lakhous is an editor of a new imprint, Shark/Gharb, that publishes Arabic translations of contemporary European works. ^[3]

He moved to New York City in 2014 and is currently a Visiting Professor at New York University. ^{[4] [5]}

Selected works

• Le cimici e il pirata. Rome: Arlem. 1999. p. 138. ISBN   978-88-86690-23-2.
• Come farti allattare dalla lupa senza che ti morda. Algiers: Al-ikhtilaf. 2003.
• Scontro di civiltà per un ascensore a Piazza Vittorio. Rome: Edizioni e/o. 2006. p. 189. ISBN   978-88-7641-716-0. ( Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio , translated by Ann Goldstein, Europa Editions, 2008, ISBN   978-1933372617)
• Divorzio all'islamica a viale Marconi. Rome: Edizioni e/o  [ it ]. 2010. p. 192. ISBN   978-88-7641-929-4. (Divorce Islamic Style, translated by Ann Goldstein, Europa Editions, 2012, ISBN   978-1609450663)
  • Alessandra Stanley described the book as "a whimsical and at times heartbreaking look at the Muslim immigrants" living in Italy. ^[6]
• Un pirata piccolo piccolo. Rome: Edizioni e/o  [ it ]. 2011. p. 176. ISBN   978-88-6632-012-8.
• Contesa per un maialino italianissimo a San Salvario. Rome: Edizioni e/o  [ it ]. 2013. p. 160. ISBN   978-88-6632-338-9. (Dispute Over a Very Italian Piglet, translated by Ann Goldstein, Europa Editions, 2014, ISBN   978-1609451882)
  • Carmela Ciuraru of The New York Times described it as "very funny". ^[7]
• La zingarata della verginella di Via Ormea. Rome: Edizioni e/o  [ it ]. 2014. p. 160. ISBN   978-88-6632-521-5. (The Prank of the Good Little Virgin of Via Ormea, translated by Antony Shugaar, 2016, Europa Editions, ISBN   978-1609453091)
• On the quest to write in a third language.Amara Lakhous dreams of green cheese and being reborn into New York City. May 4, 2016. "Literary Hub".
• The Night Bird. Manshurat al-Hibr. 2019. "Arabic Fiction."

Honours

In 2006, Lakhous won the Flaiano prize as well as the Racalmere-Leonardo Sciascia prize for Clash of Civilizations Over an Elevator in Piazza Vittorio. He obtained the Prix des Libraires Algériens in 2008. ^[1] His 2019 novel The Night Bird was longlisted for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2021. ^{[8] [9]}

References

1. Scott Goldberg (October 27, 2015). "Amara Lakhous speaks on European immigration". Cornell Chronicle.
2. Silvia Scaramuzza (November 26, 2015). "Le ferite dell'Italia viste dagli occhi di Amara Lakhous". La Voce di New York (in Italian).
3. Suzanne Ruta (3 November 2008). "Scheherazade, C'est Moi? An Interview with Amara Lakhous". Words Without Borders. Retrieved January 28, 2016.
4. "Amara Lakhous". European Studies. 2021-02-15. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
5. Ladera, Natasha. "Amara Lakhous: Tackling the Issue of Immigration a Novel at a Time." I-Italy. Nov 30 2015.
6. Stanley, Alessandra (2012-05-11). "The Lighter Side of Terrorism". The New York Times . Retrieved 2023-12-18.
7. "Newly Released Books". The New York Times . 2014-04-23. Retrieved 2023-12-18.
8. "Amara Lakhous | International Prize for Arabic Fiction". www.arabicfiction.org. Retrieved 2022-03-18.
9. "The Night Bird | International Prize for Arabic Fiction". www.arabicfiction.org. Retrieved 2022-03-18.

External links

• "Amara Lakhous".