An Anthology of Iraqi Short Stories

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This selection of ten Iraqi short stories illustrates diverse narrative styles, from the austere to the avant-garde, as well as broad spectrum of human experiences. The collection includes writers of both genders: five female writers and five male writers. It comprises both recognized classics of the genre and some very interesting, but less often anthologized works. The Arabic and English texts of the stories are organized chronologically, lightly annotated, and prefaced by engaging explanatory notes which inform the readers of some aspects of the story to enhance their understanding and appreciation of the stories and facilitate their engagement in the atmosphere of the events and actions. The collection is furnished with brief biographical notes, highlighting the most important stations in the lives of the authors and stating their most important works with the names of the publishers and dates of their publications along with footnotes explaining the words and terms, popular in the Iraqi culture and used by the authors, but they might obscure the understanding of the English native readers and probably some readers from other cultures as well for the lack of equivalent words and terms in English. The collection begins with Mohammad Khudhayir’s The black Kingdom which was published in 1972 and ends with Ahmad Saadawi’s The Bare Face inside the Dream which was published in 2018. The collection appeals to students, instructors and general readers alike.