New York Pen League

The New York Pen League (Al-Rabita al-Qalamiyah [also anglicized as Al-Rabita al-Qalamiyyah and as Ar Rabitah al Qalamuya] , known more familiarly as Al-Mahjar) was an Arab American literary movement of the 1920s and 30s that included such important authors as Ameen Rihani, Khalil Gibran, Mikhail Naimy, Nudra Haddad, William Catzeflis, Wadi Bahout, and Elia Abu Madi, some of whom have been more influential in the Arab world than in the States, as they wrote primarily in Arabic. But even among immigrants, they were important for proving that Arab American literature was not limited to writing about the immigrant experience or to explaining themselves to U.S. audiences. [ [http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0200/ijse/abinader.htm Children of Al-Mahjar] (see links)] Publications include the literary journal "Al-Fanun" (TheArts), published by Naseeb Arida; "Al-Sayeh" (The Traveler), published by Abdal-Masih Haddad; and "Al-Sameer" (The Entertainer), published by Elia Abu Madi. [ [http://www.ololwv.com/elements/bulletin_2007/06.24.2007.pdf Maronites=The First Lebanese in America] (scroll to p. 11 for the cited info)]

References

External links

* [http://www.al-funun.org/penbond/index.html al-Rabitah al-Qalamiyah]
* [http://usinfo.state.gov/journals/itsv/0200/ijse/abinader.htm Children of Al-Majhar: Arab American Literature Spans a Century] (Overview of Arab American literature)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=FoMeAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA121&dq=al-rabita&num=100&ei=zSt3R_T4C4eQjgGMwcx3&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=X3NKP6ArWyVV8f8E03M5C1fywvU#PPA121,M1 Overview of the League] (scroll to bottom of p.121)
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=qFSIf5Zz26gC&pg=PA36&dq=nudra&num=100&ei=SCp3R_P8NYP0iwHOxuls&ie=ISO-8859-1&sig=-kkMnEgpjKEVRunh2M1oibOhDo0 Photo of 1921 Pen League members] (scroll to bottom of page)