We Wrote in Symbols: Lust and Erotica by Arab Women Writers

Arab women have been the subject of male fantasies and myths about the East for centuries, while for many within the Arab world today, women who confess to sexual pleasure are still taboo. But it is a little-known secret that Arabic literature has a long tradition of erotic writing. This ground-breaking collection celebrates these women's voices who dare to articulate their own desires with artistry and skill. These stories and poems of lust and erotica lay bare the most private, prohibited, and primitive sexual experiences and awakenings. Enter and experience tantalising encounters in Parisian bars, stumble across dark confessions whispered in forgotten Beiruti alleyways, and be seduced by old friends learning to love again unexpectedly in later life. Wherever these fantasies take us, there is no such thing as a typical sexual encounter - and there never has been - as this exhilarating anthology shows through 7000 years of Arab female writing on lust and erotica. Writers both classical and contemporary, including Adania Shibli, Isabella Hammad, Hanan Al Shaykh, Hoda Barakat, Leila Aboulela, Joumana Haddad and Leila Slimani, convey the complexities, intrigues and thrill of the chase, inviting you to share their written women's most private moments.