Posted in: Yemen Observer
Written By: Raghda Gamal
Article Date: Nov 29, 2008
The Yemeni novel Black Smell, Black taste by Ali al-Moqry was nominated for the International Prize for Arabic Fiction Tuesday November 11th. The International Prize for Arabic Fiction is specifically for the literary genre, and the list of the top 16 novels were nominated from several entrants, which contained participants from Egypt, Iraq, Jordon, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Syria, Palestine, Tunis and Yemen. The large number of participating novels this year has demonstrated the skill of Arab novelists and writers, and the advancement of the literary genre in the Arab world more generally.
The existing list of 16 novels will be shortened into six during an announcement which will be made on the 10th of December in London. As for the final ceremony, it will take place in AbuDhabi on Monday the 16th of March 2009. The prizes will be $10,000 to each of the six short-listed authors and an additional $50,000 to the winner.
The Yemeni novel Black Smell, Black taste discusses the life of people in the lower classes of Yemeni society by describing a love story between a guy from al-Akhdaam and a girl from al-Mazaina during the 1970’s in Taiz governorate. The novel goes through the habits of the al-Akhdaam, and discuses the discrimination against these people and the poor and unhealthy lives they live.
From the website Afaq, Yemeni poets and writer Ali al-Moqry said that in the beginning he did not have a specific motivation for writing a novel about the al-Akhdaam. All he wanted was to become closer to them by writing about their lives. He didn’t care if his work matched real sources or events. He added that the al-Akhdaam in Yemen still live a very miserable life. They face widespread discrimination which could end in their extinction.
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