Writing Revolution: The Voices from Tunis to Damascus

by Layla Al-Zubaidi, Matthew Cassel (Editor)

From Cairo to Damascus and from Tunisia to Bahrain, Layla Al-Zubaidi and Matthew Cassel have brought together some of the most exciting new writing born out of revolution in the Arab world. This is a remarkable collection of testimony, entirely composed by participants in, and witnesses to, the profound changes shaking their region. Situated between past, present and future - in a space where the personal and the political collide - these voices are part of an ongoing process, one that is at once hopeful and heartbreaking. Unique amongst material emanating from and about the convulsions in the Arab Middle East, these creative and original writers speak of history, determination and struggle, as well as of political and poetic engagement with questions of identity and activism. This book gives a moving and inspiring insight into the Arab revolutions and why they are happening and what might come next.

Genres: Politics, Middle East

225 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[nano · Rating 5 out of 5]

"I shall not tell you that I am optimistic for the future. I am not. But I believe in the will of the people and remain certain, deep down, that the will of the people will be triumphant. We shall be victorious, quite simply because we have become incapable of losing."

[Nat · Rating 5 out of 5]

The voices within this anthology articulate the complexities of political subjectivity in a time of upheaval, exploring how identity, belonging, and resistance intersect in the lived experience of revolution. Participants’ writings reveal not just political grievances or ideological commitments but also the strain of navigating hope, disillusionment, fear, and collective responsibility. The range of genres—diaries, poetry, manifestos, interviews—reflects the multidimensional nature of the uprisings, where personal expression and political articulation merge. This multivocality resists homogenization, highlighting the fracturing of narratives within and between revolutionary contexts in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria, and elsewhere.

Furthermore, the anthology’s form is critical to its function. The editors deliberately foreground the process of translation as an ethical act grounded in fidelity to the original rhythms and urgencies of the source texts, emphasizing the political stakes of language itself. This layering of voices and languages disrupts any singular authoritative voice, which mirrors the disjointed and dissonant realities of revolutionaries who face censorship, violence, and the fragmentation of their social fabric.

"Writing Revolution" implicitly interrogates the limits of representation and the challenges of conveying the immediacy of political violence and hope in textual form. It carries the weight of bearing witness but simultaneously exposes how expressions of revolutionary fervour are caught between aspiration and the often brutal realities of repression, exile, and tentative gains. The text refuses closure, emphasising that these revolutions remain "unfinished," without simplistic notions of victory or defeat.

Al-Zubaidi’s work thus carries a postcolonial critique, drawing attention to the dangers of Western consumption and interpretation of Arab uprisings through reductive frames. By centring Arab voices, the anthology challenges imperial epistemologies that often silence or distort revolutionary actors, insisting on their agency in shaping their history and future. The collection also grapples with gendered experiences of revolution, underscoring women’s participation and nuanced reflections on freedom, autonomy, and citizenship.

In essence, "Writing Revolution" is an intervention against erasure and misrepresentation, offering an archive that is as much about the refracted politics of voice and narrative as it is about the concrete events of protest and change. It demands readers engage with the text not just intellectually but ethically, acknowledging the ongoing, unresolved tensions within and beyond the Arab Spring revolutions. This commitment to complexity and plurality makes the book a critical resource for understanding the contradictions inherent in revolutionary movements and the indelible imprints left on personal and collective identities.

[Özge Kurbetoglu · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was really good to read about Arab Spring from the witnesses of revolution. I had true informations how it emerged and spread around the middle east. I really like it

[Samar Dahmash Jarrah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I highly recommend this book if you want to read about Arab Spring.