![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() She would always start with the sentence, “I heard, oh happy king, that …”, and go on to read a story from the Thousand and One Nights, and she’d stop at the end, at a crucial moment, highly charged with suspense, saying “Oh, King”, just before the music, and the voice of the announcer came on saying, “But morning overtook Shahrazad and she lapsed into silence”.Īnd she left us excited but delighted, reassured that the King wouldn’t kill her, because he’d be in the same state as we were, full of anticipation, awaiting the completion of the story of Aladdin, or clever Hassan or Sinbad, and telling himself, “By God, I will not have her put to death until I find out what happened to Ali Baba and Murjana”. But nevertheless, Shahrazad visited us every day for a few months, via the radio, and the sexy, sensual voice of the Egyptian actress, Zou Zou Nabil. ![]() We never had a copy of The Thousand and One Nights in our house for the simple reason that we never had any books or newspapers at all, apart from the Quran. Why is Shahrazad the title of this lecture, although I’ve never mentioned her, or even intended to mention her, in my writing?įor Shahrazad appeared only on the mangy pages of old books lying about in dark corners of Arab households or old barber shops in popular neighbourhoods, waiting for customers to borrow her for a few piasters for a night. Sweet Briar College World Writers Series – March 15, 2000 ![]()
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