Speech status

It is remarkable that the circumstances have willed for me to write in the language; and it was not previously on the map of my organized writings, and that I persist in a fixed weekly column for several years; driven by a passion to search for words that we usually exchange without deep thought, following their usage across different fields between politics, society, and art, concerned with finding the hidden relationships between them and the details of daily life, exploring images of their reproduction in our ordinary dialogues; keen not to let the articles I engaged in with enjoyment turn into boring theoretical texts, or speeches that find no audience. It is inevitable to admit that the Arabic language faces repeated accusations of difficulty and complexity, and that its richness has become a source of complaint and lack of acceptance, and mockery rather than pride. Hence, this book comes as a humble attempt to change the bleak image, gathering across its many chapters what I have written over the past years, revised and expanded, each titled with a single meaningful word; from anger to concealment, from frivolity to permanence, from disdain to resistance, resentment, and virtue. Through these pages, I have sought to bring meanings closer and share with those who find in themselves a love and passion for the language a space for calm reflection; its lines are not devoid of mischief and provocation. Basma Abdulaziz Dar Al-Shorouk for Publishing and Distribution