DIBF Participants to QNA: Arab Publishing Houses in Diaspora Enhance Humanitarian Contents of Cultural Dialogue -1-

In this regard, Mahmoud Al Adham, the official of Dar Al Farjani (Darf Publishers) participating in the Doha International Book Fair (DIBF) said to Qatar News Agency that the founder of the publishing house Mohamed Bashir Al Farjani, one of the pioneers of publishing in Libya, established in Tripoli in 1953 and opened its branch in Cairo in the early 1970s, while its branch in London was established in 1981. He explained that the publishing house is interested in disseminating knowledge, literature, intellectual works, and Arab heritage, translating them into various languages aiming to preserve classical and modern Arab cultural, intellectual, and literary heritage and presenting it to the world's peoples in the best possible ways. Al Adham said that the publications of the publishing house include various branches of thought and literature, as well as travel literature, and social and cultural history. Among its important translations into English, which have achieved remarkable success, are the novel Zai nab by Mohammed Hussein Heikal, written in 1913, considered an introduction to modern Arabic literature, Farewell, Damascus by Ghada Samman, and novels from Yemen and other contemporary Arab novelists. In translation from Italian to Arabic, the publishing house introduced books by Alessandro Spina, and from English to Arabic in the field of travel literature, the book A Thousand Miles up the Nile by Amelia Edwards, and the story Cairo by Stanley Lane-Poole, as well as other works of various types of authorship and from several global languages. For his part, Ahmed Abdel Qader, the supervisor of the Dar Al-Mutawassit (Mediterranean Publications) Pavilion from Italy, stated that the publications of the publishing house include literature, thought, and culture, and it was established at the end of 2015 in Milan, Italy, as a project interested in cultural exchange between various civilizations of the world and their peoples. It began by transferring knowledge, sciences, and literature between the Arab world and Italy first, then between the Arab world and Europe, and between Italy and the world. For his part, Dar Al Mutawassit supervisor Ahmed Abdulqader said that the publications of the publishing house include literature, thought, and culture, and it was established at the end of 2015 in Milan, Italy, as a project interested in cultural exchange between various civilizations of the world and their peoples. It began by transferring knowledge, sciences, and literature between the Arab world and Italy first, then between the Arab world and Europe, and between Italy and the world. He explained that the publishing house transferred works by major writers and authors in the fields of novels, philosophy, social thought, and psychology, and introduced to Arab culture major names translated into Arabic for the first time, and it also focused on new literature, issuing novels, poetry, and short stories for many young writers. In 2016, it launched a literary series, with a Palestinian edition of some of its books coincidin g with their release in the Arab world. In late 2018, an Italian publications about the mediterranean was launched, with the aim of translating Arabic literature into Italian and clearly conveying the Arab voice to the Western world. The 33rd DIBF witnesses the participation of 515 publishers from 42 countries, and the Sultanate of Oman (guest of honor at DIBF's 33rd edition), which includes a large number of accompanying cultural and artistic events. It continues until May 18 at the Doha Exhibition and Convention Center (DECC). Source: Qatar News Agency