VOA标准英语2010年-Century-Old Novel on US-Arab Harmony S

The first English-language novel published by an Arab-American author marks its 100th anniversary

Mohamed Elshinnawi | Washington, DC 20 August 2010

 
Photo: Courtesy Project Khalid
Khalil Gibran, author of 'The Prophet,' and another significant Arab-American literary figure, provided illustrations for 'The Book of Khalid.'

The first English-language novel ever published by an Arab-American author is about to mark its 100th anniversary.

 

"The Book of Khalid," the story of two Arab boys who immigrate¹ to New York City in pursuit of the American dream, explores author Ameen Rihani's hopes for harmony between the two cultures.

Nearly a century later, it's a theme that continues to resonate.

Still relevant

"The Book of Khalid" was published in 1911, but the issues it explores are still timely, says May Rihani, an Arab American poet and the author's niece.

Courtesy Project Khalid
Arab-American author Ameen Rihani in 1916

"The whole book is about how the migrants see this new world and how an Arab — in particular — interacts with the culture of the U.S., with the daily life, with materialism² and spirituality, how those two cultures interface³ and how those two cultures — meaning the Arab culture and the American culture — can be useful to each other and how we can learn from each other."

May Rihani says Khalid, the Lebanese immigrant and title character of the novel, turns his immersive experience in New York and American culture into a plea for political and economic progress in the Arab world.

In the novel, Khalid wonders whether the freedom he's found in America — symbolized⁴ by New York's famed Statue of Liberty — might inspire a similar birth of freedom across the Arab world.

"Is it possible that the future will witness a Statue of Liberty next to the Pyramids?" the character asks.

Courtesy Project Khalid
'The Book of Khalid' by Ameen Rihani

New meaning in post 9/11 world

The century-old tale of a young Arab's cross-cultural dream of freedom has great relevance⁵ in today's post-9/11 world.

A group of scholars and public figures plans to mark the 100th anniversary of the book with Project Khalid, a series of events meant to share Rihani's vision of U.S.-Arab dialogue with a wider American audience.

Todd Fine, Project Khalid's director, believes the novel would be especially interesting to American students, providing a unique view of Arab culture, history and the experience of Arab migrants.

One of the major objectives in the coming year will be to introduce a new edition of Rihani's novel to U.S. high school and college curricula, just one of a series of efforts planned to acquaint more Americans with "The Book of Khalid."

"Additionally, we are planning an event at the Library of Congress in March, 2011, to give the official celebration of the novel and to be a forum⁶ for experts and scholars to commemorate⁷ it," says Fine. "We are also planning a website and some media outreach that will demonstrate to the entire country the importance of the 100th anniversary of the first Arab-American novel."

According to Fine, the Khalid Project is assembling a group of American scholars, teachers and librarians to conduct a public workshop on Rihani's work.

Bridge of understanding

One of those experts is Nathan Funk, an assistant professor of peace and conflict studies at Waterloo University in Canada and the author of "Ameen Rihani: Bridging East and West."

"Here is a person who was a product of two cultures and who found much of value in both and who felt that his humanity was completed by participating in both, even though they seem at times to have some different value priorities and differences in world view," says Funk. "He actively⁸ worked within himself to get a view of the world that was large enough to include the strength of both cultures, to find places where they met and could create a basis for a fuller way of being human."

Funk says author Ameen Rihani also anticipated in the political commentary running through "The Book of Khalid," that America and the Arab world would need skilled cultural ambassadors to bridge the gulf⁹ between them and to prevent dangerous misunderstandings.

He believes that, at this critical time in U.S.-Arab relations, the title character in Ameen Rihani's 1911 novel might serve the role of cultural ambassador very ably.

1 immigrate   

v.（从外国）移来，移居入境

参考例句：

• 10,000 people are expected to immigrate in the next two years.接下来的两年里预计有10，000人会移民至此。
• Only few plants can immigrate to the island.只有很少的植物能够移植到这座岛上。

2 materialism   

n.［哲］唯物主义，唯物论；物质至上

参考例句：

• Idealism is opposite to materialism.唯心论和唯物论是对立的。
• Crass materialism causes people to forget spiritual values.极端唯物主义使人忘掉精神价值。

3 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。

4 symbolized   

v.象征，作为…的象征( symbolize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• For Tigress, Joy symbolized the best a woman could expect from life. 在她看，小福子就足代表女人所应有的享受。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子
• A car symbolized distinction and achievement, and he was proud. 汽车象征着荣誉和成功，所以他很自豪。 来自辞典例句

5 relevance   

n.中肯，适当，关联，相关性

参考例句：

• Politicians' private lives have no relevance to their public roles.政治家的私生活与他们的公众角色不相关。
• Her ideas have lost all relevance to the modern world.她的想法与现代社会完全脱节。

6 forum   

n.论坛，讨论会

参考例句：

• They're holding a forum on new ways of teaching history.他们正在举行历史教学讨论会。
• The organisation would provide a forum where problems could be discussed.这个组织将提供一个可以讨论问题的平台。

7 commemorate   

vt.纪念，庆祝

参考例句：

• This building was built to commemorate the Fire of London.这栋大楼是为纪念“伦敦大火”而兴建的。
• We commemorate the founding of our nation with a public holiday.我们放假一日以庆祝国庆。

8 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

9 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。