Munir Akash

Visiting Professor in Arabic

Office: Fenton 426

Voicemail: 617-557-2008

In Fall 2006, Munir Akash moved from the University of Connecticut/Storrs to join the Department of Humanities and Modern Languages and initiate the Arabic Program. Raised and educated in Syria and Lebanon, Munir is the author, translator, and editor of 19 books in Arabic and English. These include Questions in Poetry (Beirut, 1979), The Right to Sacrifice the Other (Beirut, 2002), The Idea of America (Morocco, 2003), and The Open Veins of Jerusalem (2nd edition, Syracuse University Press, 2005). His translation of Unfortunately, It Was Paradise (University of California Press, 2004) was a finalist for the PEN Award for Poetry in Translation. In addition, Professor Akash is the founding editor of Jusoor (Bridges), an intercultural journal in book form, co-published and distributed by Syracuse University Press. He has been interviewed, quoted, and reviewed by many journals and radio and TV satellites, including the BBC, Voice of America, Al-Jazeera, New TV, World TV, Indiana Review, Parnassus, Fence, Tikkun, The Nation, The American Poetry Review, Poets, and MELA Notes. In May1983, Mario Zagari, Vice President of the European Parliament at the time, distinguished Professor Akash with the Targa Europa Award (Decoration of Europe) for his works and his active role in the dialogue of civilizations